How You Doin’?. . . Wendy Williams’ Interns Are Doing Great

Earlier this week I found myself in a car dealership in the middle of the day watching daytime television and waiting for a ride; Wendy Williams was on. I had never seen the show before (in large part because I spend my afternoons writing these blogs and not watching daytime television), but was captivated by the “How You Doin’?” catch phrase that is repeated throughout the show.

Accordingly, when Tuesday’s decision came out in Tart v. Lions Gate Entertainment, No. 1:14cv08004 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 13, 2015), preliminarily approving the class and collective settlement of approximately 1,000 current and former interns for “The Wendy Williams Show” I figured it was serendipitous that I had recently learned what “The Wendy Williams Show” was all about. The settlement figure? $1.3 million.

This approval comes only months after the Second Circuit set forth a new standard for appropriate classification of unpaid interns (as opposed to employees). These facts serve as yet another reminder of the importance of appropriately classifying your workforce so as to insulate your company from potential wage and hour liability.