Q: Can I sue my university for cutting my hours by over 50% with not enough notice?
I signed into my job as an EECS Undergraduate Learning Assistant at Oregon State University, where there was a max of 20 hours per week upon joining the team. Now, the first day of school, the maximum hours have dropped to about 10 hours per week per student, but specifically 7 hours per week per student on the new class I ULA for. I have not resigned into a new contract. Additionally, there was regular $1 raises for all returning ULAs, and on the same day that we were notified that hours were being cut by so much I asked and was informed that we would not be getting raises as well. The university is only doing this for EECS ULAs, any other job at OSU is not getting effected at all. A new EECS head this year Shelly Barrett is the person I'm always directed to whenever I ask someone new about what the reason for these cuts is. She always responds with 'budget issues', never giving me a straight answer. I have suspicion that she cut hours and raises in order to look good with her first y
A:
One question will be whether you had a contract for the higher rate. Or was the 2019-20 contract separate and finished and now you have a new contract for 2020-21.
Other questions include whether you have an due process rights.
Pull together all of the "contract" documents. If you have a contract, then that is key. If not, then all of the key E-mails. Then, check with a lawyer.
Good luck.
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