Chicago Public Schools now finds itself at the center of a new class action lawsuit, claiming the school system improperly refused to pay hundreds of current and former coaches stipends they are allegedly owed for "hundreds of hours" of work per year.
The class action lawsuit was filed by named plaintiffs Nico Ross and Travis Mitchell, on behalf of themselves and others against the Board of Education of the City of Chicago on Jan. 20. The lawsuit claims violations under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA).
Under the IWPCA, "hours worked" includes "all the time an employee is required to be on duty, or on the employer's premises, or at other prescribed places of work, and any additional time...required or permitted to work..."
Plaintiffs claim that CPS knowingly refused to honor an agreement with them, and as such contends that CPS's refusal to pay its coaches their earned compensation constitutes violation of the IWPCA.
Ross and Mitchell, like other coaches current and former, were hired as non-teacher coaches for various Chicago public schools. Under the terms of their agreements, they were offered stipends as payment in accordance with certain terms and conditions required by CPS.
Ross and Mitchell were hired as head and assistant coaches, respectively, for the wrestling team for Chicago Agricultural High School in the fall of 2018, and said they were promised stipends of $5,400 and $3,000, respectively, for their work.
Ross and Mitchell said they spent approximately 2.5 hours per day on weekdays for training, setup and tear-down, and supervision, plus 10-12 hours over the weekend at various meets. By January 2019, they said they had already logged about 100 hours coaching, in addition to hours spent at meets.
As a requirement for earning their stipends, Ross and Mitchell agreed to certain terms and conditions. Among other items, these conditions required the team to participate in conference meets and the varsity city championship in January; to participate in the CPL Championship Tournament; and that the team would not forfeit more than two dates.
In January 2019, according to the complaint, the CPS Sports Administration informed the school principal that the team did not have enough students on the team, and as a result, would not honor the stipend agreement. Plaintiffs are claiming that according to the alleged agreement, there were no mandates as to how many wrestlers were needed to qualify for the stipend, only that the above conditions were met.
Despite this, CPS still allegedly refused payment.
CPS allegedly offered Ross partial payment of $1,000 in lieu of full payment. According to court documents, Ross declined the offer. Court documents state that at that point, CPS chose to dismiss both Ross and Mitchell without compensation.
As both Ross and Mitchell were not members of a teachers union, they said they have no other recourse, besides a lawsuit, to contest their dismissal.
Plaintiffs are seeking a trial by jury, payment of all unpaid wages and damages with interest, plus attorney fees and associated costs.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Matthew Fletcher and Haskell Garfinkel, of The Garfinkel Group, of Chicago