Judge to Intern: You Can't Sue Over Sex Harassment

Because she's not a paid employee
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 9, 2013 11:51 AM CDT
Judge to Intern: You Can't Sue Over Sex Harassment
   (Shutterstock)

If you thought being unpaid was the worst part about being an "unpaid intern," consider this: A judge has ruled that a female intern can't sue her male boss on a sexual harassment claim because she is not an employee and thus not entitled to the usual employee protections, reports BuzzFeed. The complaint comes from New York City, where a 26-year-old woman says her boss asked her to accompany him to his hotel room to drop off some things, then took off his coat, put his arms around her, and asked, "Why are you so beautiful?"

She left the room and says the same supervisor later invited her to Atlantic City when she inquired about jobs at the company, Phoenix Satellite Television US. She then filed suit, but the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that she's not eligible to do so under the city's Human Rights Law because she's not technically an employee, reports BusinessWeek. (More intern stories.)

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