CBS & David Letterman Slapped With Latest Intern Class Action Lawsuit
Deadline.com
September 8, 2014 9:14 AM
David Letterman announces that he will be retiring from the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN on the broadcast tonight, Thursday, April 3 (11:35pm-12:37am, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved
David Letterman announces that he will be retiring from the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN on the broadcast tonight, …
ICM Partners might be happy to hear today that they are now not the latest industry enterprise to be hit with an interns lawsuit. ICM might be happy about that but CBS and The Late Show With David Letterman will not. While the agency fights to shut down a potentially sprawling complaint from ex-interns, the network and the late night show have been walloped with a class action of their own. Late last week, Mallory Musallam filed a class action complaint against CBS Broadcasting, CBS Corporation and the retiring late night host’s Worldwide Pants Inc. for herself and everyone who has ever been an intern on the show. "Named Plaintiff has initiated this action seeking for herself, and on behalf of all similarly situated employees that also worked on The Late Show with David Letterman, all compensation, including minimum wages and overtime compensation, which they were deprived of, plus interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs," says the jury demanding filing in New York Supreme Court (read it here).
Related: ICM Partners Tries Again To Get Interns' Lawsuit Dismissed
Claiming that the production company and CBS intentionally wrongfully classified the interns that work on the CBS late night show, Musallam says their actions were and are a violation of New York State labor law. Musallam was an intern at the Late Show from September 2008 to December that year. While citing different statutes, Musallam’s action is very similar in tone and allegations to past intern legal moves that have hit the media and entertainment industry since the potentially game-changing June 11, 2013, ruling that unpaid interns on the Darren Aronofsky-directed Black Swan were actually employees. Earlier this year, former ICM interns Kimberly Behzadi and Jason Rindenau struck the agency with a class action of their own. Late last week, ICM’s lawyers filed a motion to have the action dismissed.
"Named Plaintiff performed various tasks, including, but not limited to, research for interview material, deliver film clips from libraries, running errands, faxing, scanning, operating the switchboard, and other similar duties," claims the complaint against CBS and Letterman. Musallam's attorneys allege that she worked a 40-hour week like a full time employee and did not receive any "academic or vocational training" while at the Late Show. In fact, they say that was the point so the production company could keep its payroll expenses down. "Upon information and belief, Defendants would have hired additional employees or required existing staff to work additional hours had the Named Plaintiff and the putative class members not performed work for Defendants," the 14-page filing also adds.
Related: NBCU Hit With Intern Lawsuit
Lloyd Ambinder, LaDonna Lusher and Jack Newhouse of NYC firm Virginia & Ambinder LLP along with Jeffrey Brown, Daniel Markowitz and Michael Tompkins of Carle Place-based Leeds Brown Law P.C. are representing Musallam in the action.
Poster Comment:
Letterman is on the hot seat again, or so it seems. ;)