CBS and 'DAVID LETTERMAN' Hit with Internship Lawsuit

Deadline reports that the CBS network and THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN find themselves facing the latest class action internship lawsuit.

Mallory Musallam, an intern with the show, has filed a lawsuit against CBS Broadcasting, CBS Corp., and The Late Show with David Letterman late last week, seeking damages for herself and every past intern on the show. According to the jury, she seeks 'all compensation, including minimum wages and overtime compensation, which they were deprived of, plus interest, attorneys' fees, and costs.'

Musallam claims that CBS's actions were in direct violation of New York State Labor laws, saying that the company incorrectly classified the type of work the interns did on the show. She is not the first, however, to take legal action against a major company for hiring unpaid interns. Ever since June 2013, when interns working on the film 'Black Swan' won a ruling against FOX Searchlight, many companies have been hit with legal issues regarding the hiring of interns. This year, ICM received a lawsuit filed by two of their past interns.

The latest suit against CBS claims the interns received no 'academic or vocational training' while working there and that they were hired simply as a means to keep payroll costs down on the show. The lawsuit comes in Letterman's last year with the show, as it was announced previously this year that he was retiring. Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert is set to take over the Late Show desk in 2015.

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