Online gossip giant Gawker and founder Nick Denton were slapped with a lawsuit yesterday alleging they’re illegally boosting the bottom line by classifying workers as interns to avoid shelling out wages.
The fair-labor suit — filed in Manhattan federal court by three ex-workers in different states — claims the alleged scheme helps keep the company’s profit margin high and operating costs low.
Each one claims to have written, edited and lodged stories for Gawker and helped promote its content on social networks.
Aulistar Mark worked about 25 hours a week between May and August of 2010 at the website’s Big Apple headquarters “and was not paid a single hour for his work,” the suit contends.
Another plaintiff, Andrew Hudson, claims he worked 24 hours a week remotely from St. Louis as an unpaid intern between June 10 and Aug. 14 of 2008.
The third plaintiff, Hanchen Lu, says he worked 15 hours a week remotely from Canton, Mass., without compensation from June 14 to Oct. 15 of 2010.
The suit seeks compensation for unpaid wages and other damages.
Both Gawker and lawyers for the plaintiffs did not return messages.