A former unpaid intern at Elite Model Management Corp. announced last week that she is moving her case ahead as a collective action lawsuit against the modeling agency for its unfair use of unpaid interns. In February, Dajia Davenport filed a lawsuit, claiming that she was unfairly utilized by the agency to do work for which she should have been duly compensated under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

According to the U.S Department of Labor, an unpaid internship must be an educational experience, providing useful workplace skills that are not only specific to the establishment in question. However, interns in the for-profit private sector qualify as employees if the company relies on them to function. In this case, interns must be provided with compensation for time and attendance, including minimum wage and overtime pay.

Davenport worked as a Fashion Week intern in 2010 and is seeking conditional certification under FLSA for interns who have worked for Elite since Feb. 15, 2010. While the statute of limitations for willful violation under FLSA is three years, the statue in New York is six years. According to Law 360, Davenport hopes to stretch the notice period to the full six years, allowing all interns who worked during that time to opt into the suit.

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