On July 2nd, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its decisions in Glatt et al. v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. et al. and Wang et al.  v. The Hearst Corp., the two unpaid intern lawsuits heard in tandem by the court on January 30, 2015.  The court’s opinion in Glatt, and summary order in Wang, adopted the employer-proposed “primary beneficiary” test to determine whether an unpaid intern should be considered an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) and thus entitled to compensation.

To read more, please visit our class and collective action blog here.

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Photo of Elise M. Bloom Elise M. Bloom

Elise M. Bloom is widely hailed as one of the nation’s top employment lawyers and one of the most creative and effective discrimination wage and hour, class/collective action trial lawyers. She is particularly well-known for handling high profile, bet-the-company matters on behalf of…

Elise M. Bloom is widely hailed as one of the nation’s top employment lawyers and one of the most creative and effective discrimination wage and hour, class/collective action trial lawyers. She is particularly well-known for handling high profile, bet-the-company matters on behalf of significant national employers.

Elise is the former co-chair of Proskauer’s Labor & Employment Department, co-head of the Class & Collective Actions Group and previously served as a member of Proskauer’s elected Executive Committee for two terms.

With 30+ years in practice, Elise possesses extensive pre-trial and jury trial experience as well as conducting high-profile investigations. She has represented more companies in class actions challenging interns, trainees and volunteers than most others; this includes her precedent-setting win for Fox Searchlight Pictures in the “Black Swan” case. She also addresses a wider range of general employment issues through counseling and employer training programs.

A noted author and speaker on employment-related topics, Elise spearheads Proskauer’s annual Value Insights: Delivering Value in Labor and Employment Law survey. Elise has been recognized as one of the leading employment lawyers by several leading publications such as Chambers USA, Legal 500, New York Law Journal and Employment Law360, to name a few. She was recently recognized as “Labor & Employment Management Attorney of the Year” at Benchmark Litigation’s 2020 US Awards EAST. She has also been named “Best in Labor & Employment” at Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Awards Americas in 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2014. A client recently told Chambers USA, “She’s incredible. She has an intensity about her work and she knows how corporations work. To watch her in litigation is magic.”

Photo of Joshua Fox Joshua Fox

Joshua S. Fox is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Sports, Labor-Management Relations, Class and Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups.

As a member of the Sports Law Group, Josh has represented several…

Joshua S. Fox is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Sports, Labor-Management Relations, Class and Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups.

As a member of the Sports Law Group, Josh has represented several Major League Baseball Clubs in all aspects of the salary arbitration process, including the Miami Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. In particular, Josh successfully represented the Miami Marlins in their case against All-Star Catcher J.T. Realmuto, which was a significant club victory in salary arbitration. Josh also represents Major League Baseball and its clubs in ongoing litigation brought by current and former minor league players who allege minimum wage and overtime violations. Josh participated on the team that successfully defended Major League Baseball in a wage-and-hour lawsuit brought by a former volunteer for the 2013 All-Star FanFest, who alleged minimum wage violations under federal and state law. The lawsuit was dismissed by the federal district court, and was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Josh also has extensive experience representing professional sports leagues and teams in grievance arbitration proceedings, including playing a vital role in all aspects of the grievance challenging the suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs of then-New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Josh also has counseled NHL Clubs and served on the trial teams for grievances alleging violations of the collective bargaining agreement, including cases involving use of performance-enhancing substances, domestic violence issues, and supplementary discipline for on-ice conduct. He has played a key role in representing professional sports leagues in all aspects of their collective bargaining negotiations with players and officials, including the Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, the Professional Referee Organization, and the National Basketball Association,.

In addition, Josh has extensive experience representing clients in the performing arts industry, including the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Big Apple Circus, among many others, in collective bargaining negotiations with performers and musicians, the administration of their collective bargaining agreements, and in grievance arbitrations.

Josh also represents a diverse range of clients, including real estate developers and contractors, pipe line contractors, hospitals, hotels, manufacturers and public employers, in collective bargaining, counseling on general employment matters and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, New York State Public Employment Relations Board and arbitrators.

Josh has also recently served as an adjunct professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations for the past two years, teaching a course regarding Major League Baseball salary arbitration.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Josh worked for a year and a half at the National Hockey League, where he was involved in all labor and employment matters, including preparations for collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, contract drafting and reviewing and employment counseling. Josh also interned in the labor relations department of Major League Baseball and at Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board. He was a member of the Brooklyn Law Review and the Appellate Moot Court Honor Society and served as president of the Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society.

Photo of Mark W. Batten Mark W. Batten

Mark W. Batten is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Class & Collective Actions Group.

Mark represents employers nationwide at all stages of complex employment litigation, including class and collective actions on wage and hour matters…

Mark W. Batten is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Class & Collective Actions Group.

Mark represents employers nationwide at all stages of complex employment litigation, including class and collective actions on wage and hour matters and discrimination claims. Ranked by Chambers USA, Mark is hailed as “a fabulous lawyer, handling interesting and complex cases.” Clients “highly recommend him to anyone seeking litigation counsel in the Boston area,” as well as note “he is responsive, pragmatic and team-oriented, and offers excellent legal advice.”

He assists clients with all aspects of employment policies and practices, including hiring, termination, leaves, accommodation of disabilities, and other matters. Mark also handles diverse civil litigation, including litigation of noncompetition agreements, ERISA matters, discrimination and wrongful termination litigation in federal and state courts; proceedings before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination; wage and hour matters; and labor arbitrations. He is also an experienced appellate attorney both in employment cases and other civil litigation, handling appeals at all levels in the state courts and in the United States Courts of Appeals.

Mark also has substantial experience with traditional labor matters. He regularly represents employers in a variety of industries, including a number of newspaper and media companies, in collective bargaining, practice before the NLRB, labor arbitrations, union organizing campaigns, and day-to-day advice on administration of collective bargaining agreements. He regularly advises clients in both union and non-union settings on diligence matters in corporate acquisitions and financings. He also has experience on behalf of securities firms in arbitrations before the NASD and NYSE of customer and employee complaints.

Mark also practices on behalf of newspapers and other media in newsroom litigation, including libel defense and representation of reporters under subpoena, and has substantial experience in litigation involving access to sealed records and judicial proceedings on behalf of media companies.

Before joining Proskauer, Mark was a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, where he was lead counsel in major litigation for over two dozen federal agencies, ranging from the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, and the U.S. Secret Service to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mark regularly writes and lectures on employment-related matters, including, for instance, MCLE’s Representing Clients Before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

In his spare time, Mark is an experienced computer programmer, conversant in C, C++, and other languages. He has ported software between computer operating systems and has published several commercial computer games.

Photo of Noa Baddish Noa Baddish

Noa M. Baddish is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. She is a member of the Sports, Employment Litigation & Arbitration, Class and Collective Action, Wage & Hour and Whistleblower & Retaliation Practice Groups. Noa is also the Administrative…

Noa M. Baddish is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. She is a member of the Sports, Employment Litigation & Arbitration, Class and Collective Action, Wage & Hour and Whistleblower & Retaliation Practice Groups. Noa is also the Administrative Lead of the Class, Collective and Complex Action Practice Group.

Noa specializes in defending employers in various industries, such as sports, media and entertainment, on a wide variety of matters. With a particular focus on class and collective actions, Noa has successfully defended numerous organizations against complex employment-related claims. Noa’s approach to class and collective action defense is rooted in a thorough understanding of both federal and state employment laws. Noa’s expertise spans topics ranging from wage and hour disputes to discrimination and harassment claims. Noa is well-versed in the intricacies of class and collective action procedures, which allows her to provide comprehensive defense strategies tailored to each client’s objectives and circumstances.

Noa also has experience navigating proceedings before government agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), including Commissioner Charges and those involving complex, large-scale issues such as claims of pattern or practice discrimination.

Noa also works closely with clients to develop proactive compliance strategies, focused on minimizing the risk of litigation. Noa has particular expertise in advising clients on how to conduct reorganizations or restructuring of businesses, otherwise known as “RIFs” and is experienced in all of the technicalities that come along with these types of group-wide employment actions.

Noa was recognized as a Rising Star by New York Super Lawyers from 2015 through 2020. She has authored and contributed to several articles and newsletters on employment and labor topics, including “Managing Legal and Reputational Risks When Right-sizing Your Workforce,” LegalDive (December 2022), “Mediating Employment Disputes,” LexisNexis (June 2019), “Supreme Court Says that Equitable Tolling Cannot Extend Rule 23(f) Deadline,” Proskauer’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog (February 2019), “FLSA Turns 80: The Evolution of ‘Employee’ Status,” LAW360 (June 2018), and “CFTC Whistleblower Awards On The Horizon,” Proskauer’s Corporate Defense and Disputes Blog (May 2015).

Prior to coming to Proskauer, Noa served as Assistant General Counsel to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations and defended the Mayor and City agencies against both employee grievances at arbitration and improper practice petitions before the Board of Collective Bargaining. Prior to that, she was a Law Clerk to Judge Ellen L. Koblitz of the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.

While in law school, Noa served on the Executive Board as Notes and Articles Editor of the Fordham Urban Law Journal.