Varsity Tutors Employee Lawsuit

The lawsuit argues that tutors are “employees,” so Varsity Tutors needs to pay them overtime and for off-the-clock work, such as time spent communicating with parents or preparing lessons.

As “employees,” according to the lawsuit, Varsity Tutors must reimburse tutors’ business expenses, such as books; pay tutors’ payroll taxes, such as Social Security; and provide tutors with paid rest breaks.

In addition, tutors who live or work in California may be entitled to collect labor code penalties of up to $25,000 per misclassified tutor. California has some of the strictest penalties for independent contractor misclassification.

The test for whether someone is truly an “independent contractor” is generally based on the level of control the company exercises over its workers. If the employer requires employees to perform the job in a certain way, or at a certain time, or to particular standards, its workers may need to be classified as “employees.”

In California, the independent contractor test says that all workers are presumptively “employees,” and it’s illegal to classify a worker as an independent contractor under the state’s wage orders if the company does not allow the worker to do work for other companies.

Two former tutors for a similar company to Varsity Tutors, called “General Assembly,” sued the company claiming they were misclassified as independent contractors. The company settled the lawsuit in 2018 for $1 million.