Last month, Condé Nast settled a lawsuit over the simmering issue of interns. Company CEO Chuck Townsend issued a staff memo describing the resolution of Ballinger v. Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc. that tried to spin the best possible scenario despite the company’s clear disrespect of the law and the value of all members of its work force.

Last year, Lauren Ballinger and Matthew Leib filed the lawsuit, claiming that they had been paid below minimum wage during their summer internships at, respectively, W magazine and The New Yorker. A few months later, Condé Nast decided it would discontinue its internship program.

The Townsend memo didn’t discuss terms of the settlement, but it did defend the company:  “The settlement will allow us to devote our time and resources towards developing meaningful, new opportunities to support up-and-coming talent.”

Apparently that includes lopping off the internships because it doesn’t want to fairly reward the workers who hold them. As Townsend said, “Our internships were considered some of the best in the industry, providing students with unparalleled learning opportunities outside of the classroom.”

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