Charlie Rose Sued for Alleged Labor Law Violations, According to Outten & Golden LLP

NEW YORK, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Talk show host Charlie Rose illegally employs unpaid interns in violation of New York state labor laws, Outten & Golden LLP alleged today in a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court.

The class action complaint, filed on behalf of a former intern who worked on Mr. Rose's eponymous PBS talk show, "The Charlie Rose Show," accuses Mr. Rose and the show's corporate owner of failing to pay interns any wages for the work they perform.

Former intern Lucy Bickerton, of Brooklyn, N.Y., alleged that she regularly worked at least 25 hours per week without pay while on the Charlie Rose staff in 2007. As an intern, Ms. Bickerton's job responsibilities included performing daily background research from print and online sources to prepare Mr. Rose for guest interviews, assembling press packets, escorting the show's guests through the studio, breaking down the interview set after daily filming, and cleaning up the green room.

Adam T. Klein, of Outten & Golden LLP, said, "Since filing a lawsuit on behalf of unpaid Fox interns late last year, our office has received numerous calls from other current and former interns who were not paid for the productive work they performed. This lawsuit should send a clear message to employers that the practice of classifying employees as 'interns' to avoid paying wages runs afoul of federal and state wage and hour laws."

Elizabeth Wagoner, of Outten & Golden LLP, said, "Systematic violation of federal and state laws that cover internships appears all too common at some media companies. More and more unpaid interns are standing up for their right to earn a wage for their work. They deserve to be paid as any other part- or full-time employee doing the same work would be."

Outten & Golden will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a class action to recover unpaid wages, interest, and attorneys' fees and costs for unpaid interns who worked for Charlie Rose between March 14, 2006 and the date of a final judgment.

Ms. Bickerton's legal team recently filed two other lawsuits in federal court on behalf of unpaid interns. The first, Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures Inc., No. 11 Civ. 6784, will seek to certify a class of interns who worked in Fox Searchlight's corporate offices and on its movie productions. The second, Wang v. The Hearst Corporation, No. 12 Civ. 0793, will seek to certify a class of interns who worked for Hearst magazines. Both cases are currently pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and are in discovery.

The case against Charlie Rose is Lucy Bickerton v. Charles Rose and Charlie Rose, Inc., in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, Index No. 650780/2012. Pleadings and related documents for all of Outten & Golden LLP's intern cases are available at: www.unpaidinternslawsuit.com.

Attorney Contact: Elizabeth Wagoner, Outten & Golden LLP, New York, 212.245.1000.

Media Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for Outten & Golden LLP, 281.703.6000. [email protected].

SOURCE Outten & Golden LLP