Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.

811 F.3d 528, 25 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1716, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1716, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22977, 2016 WL 284811
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJuly 2, 2015
DocketNos. 13-4478-cv, 13-4481-cv
StatusPublished
Cited by175 cases

This text of 811 F.3d 528 (Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc., 811 F.3d 528, 25 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1716, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1716, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22977, 2016 WL 284811 (2d Cir. 2015).

Opinion

JOHN M. WALKER, JR., Circuit Judge:

Plaintiffs, who were hired as unpaid interns, claim compensation as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. Plaintiffs Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman moved for partial summary judgment on their employment status. Plaintiff Eden Antalik moved to certify a class of all New York interns working at certain of defendants’ divisions between 2005 and 2010 and to conditionally certify a nationwide collective of all interns working at those same divisions between 2008 and 2010. The district court (William H. Pauley III, J.) granted Glatt and Footman’s motion for partial summary judgment, certified Antalik’s New York class, and conditionally certified Antalik’s nationwide collective. On defendants’ interlocutory appeal, we VACATE the district court’s order granting partial summary judgment to Glatt and Footman, VACATE its order certifying Antalik’s New York class, VACATE its order conditionally certifying Antalik’s nationwide collective, and REMAND for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs worked as unpaid interns either on the Fox Searchlight-distributed film Black Swan or at the Fox corporate offices in New York City. They contend [532]*532that the defendants, Fox Searchlight and Fox Entertainment Group, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 206-07, and New York Labor (NYLL), NY. Labor Law § 652, by failing to pay them as employees during their internships as required by the FLSA’s and NYLL’s minimum wage and overtime provisions. The following background facts are undisputed except where noted.

Eric Glatt

Eric Glatt graduated with a degree in multimedia instructional design from New York University. Glatt was enrolled in a non-matriculated (non-degree) graduate program at NYU’s School of Education when he started working on Black Swan. His graduate program did not offer him credit for his internship.

From December 2, 2009, through the end of February 2010, Glatt interned in Black Swan’s accounting department under the supervision of Production Accountant Theodore Au. He worked from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. five days a week. As an accounting intern, Glatt’s responsibilities included copying, scanning, and filing documents; tracking purchase orders; transporting paperwork and items to and from the Black Swan set; maintaining employee personnel files; and answering questions about the accounting department.

Glatt interned a second time in Black Swan’s post-production department from March 2010 to August 2010, under the supervision of Post Production Supervisor Jeff Robinson. Glatt worked two days a week from approximately 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. His post-production responsibilities included drafting cover letters for mailings; organizing filing cabinets; filing paperwork; making photocopies; keeping the takeout menus up-to-date and organized; bringing documents to the payroll company; and running errands, one of which required him to purchase a non-allergenie pillow for Director Darren Aronofsky.

Alexander Footman

Alexander Footman graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in film studies. He was not enrolled in a degree program at the time of his Black Swan internship. From September 29, 2009, through late February or early March 2010, Footman interned in the production department under the supervision of Production Office Coordinator Lindsay Feld-man and Assistant Production Office Coordinator Jodi Arneson. Footman worked approximately ten-hour days. At first, Footman worked five days a week, but, beginning in November 2009, he worked only three days a week. After this schedule change, Black Swan replaced Footman with another unpaid intern in the production department.

Footman’s responsibilities included picking up and setting up office furniture; arranging lodging for cast and crew; taking out the trash; taking lunch orders; answering phone calls; watermarking scripts; drafting daily call sheets; photocopying; making coffee; making deliveries to and from the film production set, rental houses, and the payroll office; accepting deliveries; admitting guests to the office; compiling lists of local vendors; breaking down, removing, and selling office furniture and supplies at the end of production; internet research; sending invitations to the wrap party; and other similar tasks and errands, including bringing tea to Aro-nofsky and dropping off a DVD of Black Swan footage at Aronofsky’s apartment.

Eden Antalik

Eden Antalik worked as an unpaid publicity intern in Fox Searchlight’s corporate office in New York from the beginning of May 2009 until the second week of August [533]*5332009. During her internship, Antalik was enrolled in a degree program at Duquesne University that required her to have an internship in order to graduate. Antalik was supposed to receive credit for her internship at Fox Searchlight, but, for reasons that are unclear from the record, she never actually received the credit.

Antalik began work each morning around 8:00 a.m. by assembling a brief, referred to as “the breaks,” summarizing mentions of various Fox Searchlight films in the media. She also made travel arrangements, organized catering, shipped documents, and set up rooms for press events.

Prior Proceedings

On October 19, 2012, plaintiffs filed their first amended class complaint seeking unpaid minimum wages and overtime for themselves and all others similarly situated. Thereafter, Glatt and Footman abandoned their class claims and proceeded as individuals. After discovery, Glatt and Footman moved for partial summary judgment, contending that they were employees under the FLSA and NYLL. The defendants cross-moved for summary judgment claiming that Glatt and Footman were not employees under either statute. At about the same time, Antalik moved to certify a class of New York State interns working at certain Fox divisions and a nationwide FLSA collective of interns working at those same divisions.

On June 11, 2013, the district court concluded that Glatt and Footman had been improperly classified as unpaid interns rather than employees and granted their partial motion for summary judgment. The district court also granted Antalik’s motions to certify the class of New York interns and to conditionally certify the nationwide FLSA collective.

On September 17, 2013, the district court, acting on defendants’ motion, certified its order for immediate appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). On November 26, 2013, we granted defendants’ petition for leave to file an interlocutory appeal from the district court’s orders. For the reasons that follow, we vacate the district court’s orders and remand.

DISCUSSION

At its core, this interlocutory appeal raises the broad question of under what circumstances an unpaid intern must be deemed an “employee” under the FLSA and therefore compensated for his work. That broad question underlies our answers to the three specific questions on appeal.

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811 F.3d 528, 25 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1716, 25 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1716, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22977, 2016 WL 284811, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/glatt-v-fox-searchlight-pictures-inc-ca2-2015.