There is no doubt that the for-profit ESL industry has been profiting off its employees and been a breeding ground for wage theft. Slowly but surely things have started to change, but that is because there are employees fighting back. There have been stories of institutions such as Kaplan’s employees unionizing and filing class action lawsuits. I have had colleagues receive notices about class action settlements for back wages from prep time. All of this is good and provides a much needed change for these companies to comply. Even the ones that never make the news because they have been settled in confidential out-of-court settlements help force these companies to change and comply with the law. But the one thing that they have in common is they required employees to fight and speak up. This is something that is not easy to do and often or not the employees who do fight back face retaliation in the form of being harassed and bullied to ultimately terminated. So before you cash that class action settlement check that you received in the mail from working at a for-profit ESL school five years ago, please
take the time to remember to thank those employees who have been willing to fight the fight.
Here is a list of things you can do to help fight back:
1) Learn the basics of employment law, especially wage and hour laws for hourly or non-exempt employees. If you are in states such as California and New York the laws are fairly strict towards employers. It is our duty as citizens to be informed about these things. Many Employment Law firm websites provide excellent sources of information for explaining these laws in less convoluted layman’s terms.
2) Read your employee handbook and look for how your employer defines their own policies. Are they congruent with current laws? Often times they are not. One of the most common things that I noticed in for-profit ESL schools is the amount of
masquerading they do with trying to legitimize how they break the law, especially in the area of prep time or lack thereof.
3) Report things you think are being violated in writing, such as in email. Even if the organization has a so-called policy for complaints to be made orally, try to still do this as best you can, even if it means emailing a colleague. As a former employee who was retaliated for complaining about public policy issues, my smoking gun for evidence was the complaints in emails and how the managers responded inappropriately. Be wary, companies are becoming wise to this and really trying to avoid implicating themselves in emails, which is why it is important to try and do it.
4) Become familiar with government organizations that handle employment law claims. These are sometimes the first steps in fighting back. Often times they do have hotlines that can answer legal questions and help you file. Some examples include the EEOC, DLSE, and DOL.
5) Write anonymous reviews about the school on sites such as Glassdoor and indeed.com. This gives an accurate portrayal of what it is really like to work at places and sometimes it is one of the safer ways to speak up.
6) Work in solidarity with other employees. This is probably the biggest criticism I had with many of my colleagues when I fought a for-profit ESL school. There was a lack of solidarity with the other employees. When I requested one to become a witness in my case he became too scared of retaliation and reported it to management who told him to cease contact with me. I get how you can be scared of retaliation, which is something that is very real. But you can’t go through life being a coward, and at some point you should do the right thing. My case could have been a bigger class action case had my colleagues been more willing to fight with me instead of becoming scared and running, which is exactly what these for-profit ESL schools want. There is safety in numbers and this certainly makes retaliation much more difficult. So please, try to support your colleagues who speak up, not only do they really need your support on an emotional level, but it makes things safer for everyone.
7) Find local employment law firms in your area. One of the biggest surprises I found is the number of attorneys who are willing to work on contingency (work for free until settlement). Many of these firms will offer free consultations, which can be useful for obtaining legal information and learning about what steps to take. Should you decide to seek the help of an employment law firm realize you are entering a contract and have realistic expectations on a settlement. Yes, many of these firms genuinely care about employee rights, but they are also a business.
8) Read books on employment rights and laws. One of the best books that I read and followed a lot of advice from was “Stand Up For Yourself Without Getting Fired: Resolve Workplace Crises Before You Quit, Get Axed or Sue the Bastards” by Donna Ballman. I read this book while I was still employed and it helped me with understanding the process better. It gave me such ideas as how to write a formal complaint and suggest remedies to my former employer such as professional mediation. Ultimately, my former employer failed to do anything and I was terminated, but my documentation and desire to seek remedies helped me to secure a lawyer to help sue the bastards.
*This is not meant to be professional legal advice. Only a lawyer can give you that. My goal is to point employees in the right direction and encourage you to stand up for yourself. This is an industry that will only change if people start fighting back. Complacency will only continue to perpetuate the status quo that many of these for-profit ESL schools are banking on.
