Huffington Post Bloggers Sue, Seeking Payment for Writing
Huffington Post bloggers filed a federal class action against the website, its founder Arianna Huffington and its parent company, AOL, today, over their unpaid status.
According to the Washington Post, the Southern District of New York filing alleges that the defendants engaged in unjust enrichment and deceptive business practices. The action (PDF) seeks $105 million in damages.
The Huffington Post is widely read, but its practice is to solicit articles without paying for them.
Jonathan Tasini is the lead plaintiff. He told the Washington Post that the website made an “implied promise” regarding compensation.
“Some people were given some promises about future payments,” said Tasini, a freelance writer. He previously was the lead plaintiff in New York Times v. Tasini, a 2001 landmark case dealing with freelancers compensation for archived articles in electronic databases.
According to Tasini, Huffington has built the business that AOL bought in February for $315 million on uncompensated labor.
“Arianna Huffington believes she and only she should pocket the money for the value created,” he said.
Mario Ruiz, HuffPo’s spokesman, told The Wrap that the lawsuit is without merit.
“As we’ve said before, our bloggers use our platform—as well as other unpaid group blogs across the web—to connect and help their work be seen by as many people as possible,” he wrote in an email.
