Legal Standard The FLSA authorizes workers to sue on behalf of both themselves and 'other employees similarly situated.' 29 U.S.C. Nonetheless, the Court will sometimes refer to Lu and Matthews along with Mark and Hudson as 'Plaintiffs' for simplicity's sake. Since Plaintiffs' motion was filed, Matthews and Lu have signed stipulations dismissing their claims with prejudice. With the Court's permission, Gawker filed a surreply on May 21, 2014, to which Plaintiffs responded on May 27, 2014. Plaintiffs filed the instant motion for conditional certification and court-authorized notice on December 10, 2013, and it was fully submitted on January 18, 2014. Plaintiffs also bring claims for violations of 'applicable State labor law' on behalf of the latter class of interns. Plaintiffs also assert similar claims under the New York Labor Law on behalf of two classes of Gawker interns who performed the work described above: ones who worked for Gawker in New York and ones who worked remotely from different locations within the United States. Pursuant to § 216(b) of the FLSA, the amended complaint asserts minimum wage and record-keeping claims on behalf of the named Plaintiffs and: all similarly situated persons who were designated as 'interns' by Gawker who were not paid the legal minimum for their work on the Gawker Weblogs and who performed duties relating to the creation, promotion and/or management of content on behalf of Gawker, including but not limited to writing, researching, editing, lodging stories and multimedia content, promoting content on social sites, moderating the comments forum and managing the community of Gawker users, during the period between three years prior to the filing of this Complaint and until the date of final adjudication of this action. Plaintiffs allege that Gawker's failure to pay its interns the minimum wage for such work violated the FLSA and state labor laws.

In their amended complaint, Plaintiffs allege that Gawker hired unpaid and underpaid interns to perform work that was 'central to Gawker's business model as an internet publisher'-specifically, 'writing, researching, editing, lodging stories and multimedia content, promoting content on social sites, moderating the comments forum and managing the 1 community of Gawker users.' Id. Gawker is a media company based in New York City that publishes a number of popular blogs. The complaint was later amended to add a fourth Plaintiff, David Matthews, who also worked for Gawker as an unpaid intern. Background This action was originally filed on Jby Aulistar Mark, Hanchen Lu, and Andrew Hudson, who worked in 20 as unpaid interns for blogs operated by Defendants Gawker Media LLC and its founder and controlling owner Nick Denton (collectively, 'Gawker'). For the following reasons, the motion is granted. NATHAN, District Judge: Before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion for conditional certification and court-authorized notice pursuant to § 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act ('FLSA'), 29 U.S.C. DATE FILED:,AU_G_J 5 201 13-cv-4347 (AJN) Plaintiffs, MEMORANDUM & ORDER -v- GAWKER MEDIA LLC and NICK DENTON, Defendants. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -)( AULISTAR MARK and ANDREW HUDSON, Individually and on behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, USDCSDNY DOCUMENT ELECTRONICALLY FILED DOC#: _. After resolving any remaining issues, the Court will direct the parties to submit a joint proposed notice that reflects such resolution. The parties should cite case law from courts in this Circuit that supports their arguments. Their letter should (1) represent that the parties hav e met and conferred, (2) identify the precise issues on which disagreement remains, and (3) set forth each side's position on those issues. If the parties are unable to reach complete agreement, they should submit a joint letter by the same date. Counsel for the parties are hereby directed to meet and confer regarding the content and dis semination of the notice and to submit a joint proposal to the Court by August 31, 2014. In its opposition brief, Gawker r equests 'an opportunity to meet and confer with Plaintiffs' counsel concerning the proposed notice.' Def. For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiffs' motion for conditional certification and court authorized notice under§ 216(b) of the FLSA is GRANTED. Court Description: MEMORANDUM & ORDER granting 15 Motion to Certify Class.

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