CBS and David Letterman sued by former unpaid intern

CBS and Late Show host David Letterman have been slapped with a lawsuit by an intern who claims they violated minimum wage and overtime laws.

On Thursday, 26-year-old former unpaid intern Mallory Musallam, who worked for Late Show with David Letterman during the fall semester of 2008, filed a class action suit in New York's Supreme Court on behalf of every unpaid intern for the past six years. She claims CBS and Letterman consciously mitigated costs by giving work to interns rather than hiring more staff. Musallam says she typically worked more than 40 hours a week without payment or vocational training.

Now she is seeking payment plus interest for the work she did on the show, which according to her resume was helping with research and dubbing videos. In addition, she is seeking compensation for her legal fees.

A CBS spokesman released a statement saying, "We pride ourselves on providing valuable internship experiences, and we take seriously all of our obligations under relevant labor and employment laws. We intend to vigorously defend against the claims."

CBS also noted this lawsuit is a part of a nationwide trend where lawyers attack internship opportunities provided by media companies. That trend seems to have started when a number of interns filed a lawsuit against Fox Searchlight for their work on the 2010 film Black Swan. Lawsuits filed by unpaid interns against Warner Music Group, Atlantic Records, Conde Nast, and others quickly followed.

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