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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    1

    Default Unpaid Summer Work for a University

    My question involves employment and labor law for the state of: Ohio

    Hello, I'm a student that got a summer job at my university working on medical imaging software with a professor (he is the director of the graduate studies program for computer science & engineering).

    -On 05/08/11 I went into the interview and he stated that I was hired and I will be making anywhere from $20-25 an hour with 40 hours a week. He states that I should not be taking any classes during this timeframe, and if I MUST, then 1 will be all I can take. The job will begin right after Spring quarter ends, which was the week of 05/29/11 and will end after Summer quarter (10 weeks).

    - A week after the interview, we have another meeting and he gives out a 'Test Assignment' and tells us to work on it on our free time and record our hours (this was during the last few weeks of classes of Spring quarter). I complete it and recorded 18 hours of work, and he confirmed it.

    - Week of 05/29/11 I was told to go fill out my employment papers at the computer science and engineering office. I went there on 3 different times that week and the head of the employment told me each time that they are disputing with the professor and HR about the sponsor paying us $20 an hour. She tells me I will receive an email when the dispute has settled.

    - The first week of work began on 06/05/11. I was given a desk, computer, and was trained for one week.

    - The next two weeks we were given our assignments to work on. Wednesday of the second week (05/19/11) I received an email that the dispute was settled and I should go to the computer science and engineering office to fill out my employment paperwork.

    - I later find out our pay will be reduced from $20 to $12 an hour and I will only be working 30 hours a week. And I find out on the employment forms that it stated I cannot be employed without at least having 6 credits of classes during the summer. The professor had previously told me to not take any classes during work.

    - So, I call the career services up and they tell me that they will place me into their 'retirement program' where they will take a percentage of my already deducted pay and at the end of the summer, for a small processing fee, I can apply to have it returned. Thus, avoiding the employment termination.

    - I'm now 'officially' employed at the university on 07/01/11.

    - I can now fill out my timesheets for the previous weeks. But, I find out that since my timesheets will be late, I was be subject to an additional 28% tax fee, on top of the retirement fee. I get my timesheets signed by the professor and in by 07/08/11.

    - I receive an email from the computer science and engineering office stating that our timesheets will no longer work because of HR policy stating that they cannot pay us for all of the weeks we have worked for up to 07/01/11 (for me). Therefore, we should lie on our online timesheets (since I'm now employed, I can feel them out online instead of in person) and place additional hours for our work to make up for it.

    - Working for 30 hours a week and with the additional 18 hours for the test assignment, I'm at about 140 hours of work. To make this up, seeing how I can only place 40 hours as a max on the timesheet, I will be only getting 10 extra hours of work per week. It will take me 14 weeks to obtain all of my wages earned previously. My summer ends in 5 weeks, therefore the job ends for me.

    - I receive an email today (07/09/11) from the professor, that not all students are allowed 30 hours of work per week. I'm confused because my 3 timesheets (that could not be used later on) had me working 30 hours a week and he signed them. So, now it seems like he's trying to save his hide at getting our wages paid by 'reducing' our current hours but we make up those hours he reduced, thus getting our money back.





    Now, I'm stuck. I don't know what to do at the moment, but just quit the job and take my losses. I was misled by the professor who is supposedly a director there (a person who manages research funding for that department) who had absolutely no idea what he was doing. It was my first job, so I had no idea that he screwed up big time until it was too late. Perhaps now on I will not work until there is a signed contract in agreement. If I quit this job can he legally come back and try to say since I quit, it delayed the development of the software for the company we are contracted for and therefore, I could be sued? I did not sign any contracts, just employment forms with the university.

    What would you do in my situation?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Unpaid Summer Work for a University

    Mistakes happen.

    It sounds like you quit the job, so I'm not sure what you want us to tell you to do.

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