EMPLOYEE MISCLASSIFICATION

Settled two separate but companion lawsuits brought by two Plaintiff professors against the same defendant, an accredited online academic institution known for computer science and business management courses. Both professors separately raised complaints over the number of hours they were working and raised issues about their exempt status. After each professor complained, the university separately refused to offer them future teaching assignment contracts and essentially terminated them from future contracts. With one of the professors, the university president wrote that due to the professor’s clear unhappiness with the pay structure, it was best to terminate the professor’s services. The university claimed the other professor had been teaching classes no longer in demand by students and that she was not qualified to teach the intense computer science now in high demand. The professors each filed separate lawsuits that disputed their exempt status and sought damages for unpaid wages and overtime under state and federal laws and various statutory penalty provisions. They also claimed retaliatory termination in violation of public policy and statute. Both professors alleged they had well-recognized reputations and had received accolades from their students, and one had even been recognized as teacher of the year twice.