After four Tulane University Police Department officers resigned less than three years after starting, Tulane University sued the officers, claiming they have to pay back the money the school spent on training, equipment and wages, per their employment contracts.
Now, two of those officers, Kenneth Julian and Shanell Fernandez, are countersuing, arguing the repayment agreement violates state and federal labor law.
When Tulane hires new officers who do not have a Peace Officer Standards and Training Council certification, it puts them through the required courses at the university’s expense. POST certification is required to exercise police powers in Louisiana.
If an officer resigns within three years of starting at TUPD, they are on the hook for the cost of their uniform, equipment, any off-site trainings, the required POST certification and wages paid during training above minimum wage, according to the lawsuit filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court in January.
After resigning from TUPD after 17 months, Julian was sent an email by his former supervisors telling him he owed the university just over $79,000. Five months later, he received a letter from an outside law firm hired by Tulane demanding that he pay back over $68,000 — a few thousand more than he actually earned from Tulane.
Ellie Schilling, the lawyer representing the former officers, said that demand is unenforceable.
“Under state law, any sort of contract that says that if an employee resigns, then they forfeit the wages that are due to them is invalid, unenforceable and void for public policy,” Schilling said.
Schilling said she does not know how TUPD supervisors arrived at the $79,000 figure and that Tulane is demanding money for equipment Julian returned after he resigned.
The other plaintiff, Fernandez, worked with TUPD for nine months before resigning due to low pay and family medical issues, the lawsuit alleges. Fernandez made $16 an hour as an officer. After resigning, TUPD demanded she pay just under $28,000, more than she earned during her time at Tulane.
The lawsuit is filed as a class action, meaning other former officers who were subject to repayment agreements can join the suit as plaintiffs. No other former officers have joined the lawsuit, Schilling said.
“Unsurprisingly, state and federal law bar employers from requiring employees to pay back the wages that they earned and were due to them under the law simply because the employee resigns,” Schilling said.
Under state law, non-governmental employers cannot make employees sign contracts that would force them to forfeit their wages if they are fired or resign before the contract is up. However, governmental law enforcement agencies can seek reimbursement for training costs and wages if employees leave before a time period specified in their employment contract.
Because Tulane is a private nonprofit, the lawsuit argues it has no legal basis for suing for reimbursement.
Nationally, Training Repayment Agreement Provisions — provisions in employment contracts that demand employees repay their employers for training costs — are coming under increasing scrutiny. If the costs associated with a TRAP effectively bring an employee’s pay below the minimum wage, that could violate the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage provision.
Schilling said the harm caused to the former officers is twofold. First, repayment provisions make officers feel that they are required to stay employed with Tulane no matter what opportunities or personal circumstances arise. Second, after they resign, Tulane is incurring additional legal fees for the former officers by suing, when there is “no enforceable obligation” to pay back the university.
Tulane spokesperson Michael Strecker declined to comment, citing the university’s policy not to comment on pending litigation or personnel issues.
“One thing that’s important to understand about these repayment agreements that TUPD is using is that they’re essentially requiring employees to sign agreements that are the equivalent of indentured servitude,” Schilling said.