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Talk Show ‘Charlie Rose’ Is Sued Over Use of Unpaid Interns

Mar 15, 2012  •  Post A Comment

The talk show "Charlie Rose" has been hit with a lawsuit from a former unpaid intern, who is accusing Rose and his production company of violating New York state wage laws, reports The New York Times’ Media Decoder.

The lawsuit was filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan by Lucy Bickerton, who complained she wasn’t paid for the 25-hour weeks she worked from June to August 2007, the story notes. She and her legal team from the law firm Outten & Golden want to bring the lawsuit as a class action on behalf of all of the show’s unpaid interns since early 2006, the piece adds.

"Central to the show’s lean production are the substantial number of unpaid interns who work on the ‘Charlie Rose’ show each day, but are paid no wages,” according to the lawsuit.

An attorney for Charlie Rose Inc. said, "We are confident that Charlie Rose Inc.’s employment practices are appropriate," the story adds.

The lawsuit seeks to take on the practice of using unpaid interns, the article points out.

"Employers’ failure to compensate interns for their work, and the prevalence of the practice nationwide, curtails opportunities for employment, fosters class divisions between those who can afford to work for no wage and those who cannot, and indirectly contributes to rising unemployment," the lawsuit states.

2 Comments

  1. Seriously, how horrible! People who agreed to become unpaid interns – got no wages! Hang the bastards! Interns work for free for college credits, experience, something to put on their resumes… No one has a gun to their heads to work at those type jobs. I am so sick of the Labor Union mentality that is trying to force companies to take care of the monumental idiots in the world. If you don’t like your job, your employer, the terms of your employment – QUIT! The only obligation employers have is to do what they agreed to do when they hired you and to make the work environment as safe as possible – no more. Why can’t we make whomever loses a lawsuit responsible for all court costs and to pay the fees and lawyers from the opposing side. That would end these frivolous lawsuits in a heartbeat.

  2. Of course it is a class action. These lawyers wouldn’t do it if all they could do is get a cut of her pay at minimum wage (assuming she would win which is a long shot in any state but NY).

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