Interns who worked for Gucci within a court mandated time period and did not receive compensation might qualify to receive compensation under a recent class action settlement
Lead plaintiff Lindsey Higgins filed the Gucci unpaid intern class action lawsuit on November 8, 2014. The lawsuit alleges that Gucci and subsidiaries such as Bottega Veneta Inc, Stella McCartney American Inc, and Yves Saint Laurent America violated one or more provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as New York labor law.
According to class action settlement documents, Gucci should have compensated the unpaid interns the statutory minimum wage throughout the length of the internships. Higgins claimed in the class action lawsuit the interns should have received both unpaid wages and interest on the lump sum due each eligible class member. After several mediation sessions that started on May 27, 2015, both parties agreed to the Gucci unpaid internship class action settlement.
Each of the defendants denies the claims made in the class action settlement, but the companies agreed to the settlement to avoid the high costs of litigation.
What You Need To Know
According to class counsel, eligible class members “include unpaid internship settlement include anyone who interned with Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney or Bottega Veneta during the applicable class period.” Class members had until July 27, 2017 to opt out of the class action settlement or contest one or more sections of the agreement. The maximum potential award is $900 for class members that provided retail services for any of the three defendants. Class members who worked for the defendants in an unpaid corporate internship might receive $450, $550, or $650.
Class members must submit a copy of a valid government issued identification card and a completed IRS W-9 form. Unverified class members must submit additional evidence that collaborates claims they worked as an unpaid intern for one of the three defendants. The deadline to file a valid claim form for an unverified class member is September 25, 2017. Verified class members should have already submitted the claim forms.
The presiding judge for the case called Gucci America Inc., Case No. 161446/2014, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County has scheduled the final hearing on August 15, 2017. To learn more about what transpired at the final hearing, visit the class action settlement website at www.InternshipSettlementLawsuit.com. Law firm Leeds Brown Law PC has three attorneys representing class counsel. Christopher A. Parlo, Leni D. Battaglia, and Daniel A. Kadish of Morgan Lewis & Bockus LLP comprise the defense counsel. Learn more about the attorneys on both sides of the class action settlement by accessing the website.
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