Intern Doing Odd Jobs Needs Duties Clarified

Q. I am working as an intern in an investment bank. When I was offered the internship, I asked about what kind of duties I would be responsible for in that position. Their description sounded exactly like what I was looking for.

After starting my internship, however, I find that I am basically just doing odd jobs. I understand that I am only an intern, but the reason I took the job was for real experience. Is this fair? Should I say something to my boss?

--J.O., Garden Grove

*

A. You should definitely discuss the situation with your boss. An internship is supposed to be a learning experience. If you are not learning anything and are simply doing low-level tasks unrelated to your internship, this is inappropriate.

On the other hand, it may be that the “odd jobs” you are performing are relevant learning experiences for new interns. In any case, you need to have the situation clarified immediately.

--Ron Riggio, director,

Kravis Leadership Institute,

Claremont McKenna College

Employees Required to ‘Reapply’

Q. Once a year, my company selects a department--I fear mine may be next--and requests that everyone “reapply for their current job.” After this process, the staff is usually reduced by 50%. The company usually justifies this by telling employees that they were terminated because they didn’t express an interest in an opening for the same job in some other state.

Needless to say, I find this procedure reprehensible. I assume that this was invented by some accounting/business consultant as a way of downsizing without any legal risk.

Do you know if this is legal? Is there anything I can do to prepare in the event that I am next?

--G.R., Santa Barbara

*

A. There is nothing illegal about this policy on its face. Unless employees have a contract specifying employment for a specific term or that an employee can be terminated only for cause, the employer or the employee may terminate the relationship at any time.

The only potential illegality might be if the employees who are not rehired are predominantly older or are members of an ethnic minority or some other protected class. Even if protected characteristics are not consciously taken into account by the employer in deciding whom to rehire, if the effect of the decision is to exclude a significant portion of a protected class, the practice might be vulnerable under a “disparate impact” theory of discrimination.

If this policy is so disturbing to you, you may want to find other employment before perhaps being forced to do so.

--James J. McDonald Jr.,

Attorney, Fisher & Phillips,

Labor law instructor, UC Irvine

In the Dark on OT Complaint

Q. Earlier this year, I filed a complaint with the labor commissioner for overtime pay owed by my employer. A meeting was set up between me, the company and a deputy with the labor commissioner’s office. The company did not show up. Since then, I have not heard from the labor commissioner, despite repeatedly trying to make contact. What is my next move?

--A.J., Norwalk

*

A. In this column, we often recommend that employees file claims with the California labor commissioner for unpaid wages, overtime premiums or penalties. But we rarely talk about what the labor commissioner does in response to employee complaints.

Ordinarily, the commissioner conducts administrative hearings in response to employee complaints, although the commissioner can instead file a lawsuit. The labor commissioner must decide whether to conduct an administrative hearing within 30 days after the complaint is filed. The hearing itself must be held within 90 days of that decision.

The labor commissioner will conduct the administrative hearing and issue a decision even if the employer fails to show up. After the decision is issued, the defaulting employer has six months to request that the decision and order be set aside and a new hearing granted.

The hearing will be reopened only if the employer can show that its failure to respond was excusable. More often, a defaulting employer will seek a new trial in Superior Court. But the appeal must be filed within 10 days after the labor commissioner serves notice of the decision (15 days if the decision was served by mail).

Given these short time periods, there is no good reason why the labor commissioner has left you in the dark about your case.

Your best bet is to call or write for a status report from the senior deputy at the office of the labor commissioner where you filed your complaint.

--Joseph L. Paller Jr.,

Union, employee attorney

Gilbert & Sackman