Condé Nast settles lawsuit with former interns for $5.8 million

Score one for the interns: On Thursday, Condé Nast agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by thousands of former interns who say they were underpaid during their time at the company.

The lead plaintiffs were Lauren Ballinger, who said she earned about $1 an hour while organizing accessories at W magazine, and Matthew Leib, who said he was paid roughly $300 for a summer internship at The New Yorker. The settlement agreement covers around 7,500 interns, Reuters reports, and interns from 2007 on are expected to receive payouts of $700 to $1,900.

The company canceled its internship program in June 2013 after the lawsuit was filed. In an internal email sent after the decision was made, Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend wrote that "settling the lawsuit is the right business decision for Condé Nast, as it allows us to focus our time and resources on developing meaningful, new opportunities to support future up-and-coming talent."

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