San Jose-based Fenox Venture Capital wrongfully labeled 56 workers as interns and failed to pay them, the Department of Labor announced Monday.
Fenox must pay $331,269 in back wages and damages, according to a Department of Labor news release. The workers in question performed high-level jobs, including screening startups for potential investment, sending reports to investors in Japan, and recruiting potential staff, the investigation found. Though the workers displaced regular employees and staffed the majority of the firm s investment team, they were treated as interns and not paid for their work, according to the release.
If, in fact, you are an employee, you must be paid properly, Susan Blanco, director for the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco, wrote in a statement. Employers cannot simply label an employee an intern and not pay them anything.
Calling the workers unpaid interns violated federal minimum wage law, which dictates non-exempt workers must be paid at least $7.25 per hour, according to the Department of Labor.
Fenox specializes in helping North American entrepreneurs expand in Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets, according to the firm s website. The firm provides early stage and final round funding in areas that include artificial intelligence, virtual reality, financial tech and big data.
A handful of the unpaid interns involved in the investigation had come to the U.S. from Japan to work for Fenox, said Michael Eastwood, assistant district director for the Department of Labor.
Fenox did not immediately respond to phone or email messages seeking comment.
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