[Pollster1]

In the United States, parties making employer or other contracts can’t “agree” to things that violate the law. You can’t “agree” to forgo overtime after eight hours. It is still owed you, and the employer must pay you. In the case of these bogus entertainment industry “internships,” you can’t “agree” to fetch coffee for free. The employer is breaking the law. You must be compensated.

There is a difference between and employer pressuring an employee to work overtime without pay (or without extra pay) and an unpaid intern claiming that her internship was actually a paid position, just without a paycheck. I hope this little liar loses her case (someone who agrees to work for free in return for learning about the job and then sues to be paid for that work is a liar). I also hope no one will ever hire her for anything other than the register at McD's. Your word is your bond, and I have no patience with people who use the courts to renegotiate for a better deal after the fact.

[Blue Ink]

“an unpaid intern claiming that her internship was actually a paid position, just without a paycheck. “

“Claiming?” It isn’t just a “claim.” It is indisputable that her internship was a paid position for some people at the company. Other people got paid to fetch coffee and answer phones; she didn’t. That’s illegal.

And it doesn’t matter if she “negotiated” to do it for free. Nobody, not an employer, not an employee, has the power to ignore labor laws through “negotiation.”

Letterman loses big here, and the greedy SOB deserves to.