Graduate School of Education Lecturer Sues Harvard Over Monthly Payments

Harvard Graduate School of Education adjunct lecturer Kimm Topping filed a class-action lawsuit against Harvard in Middlesex County Superior Court in January, alleging the University paid them less frequently than required by Massachusetts law.

Topping’s suit claims that they and “hundreds of workers” at Harvard were paid on a monthly basis, rather than weekly, bi-weekly, or semi-monthly as required under state law.

The Massachusetts Wage Act, which also mandates that employees receive wages within six days of the pay period in which they were earned, allows certain administrative and professional employees to opt for monthly payments. But Topping alleges they never elected into monthly pay, nor were they given the opportunity to ask for more frequent pay.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on the litigation.

In total, Topping’s suit claims they were paid “approximately $18,000 of their gross wages later than required by law” and argues the University is liable for three times the value of the late pay, plus attorneys’ fees.

“Defendant’s illegal payroll policies have resulted in late payment and the unlawful withholding of millions of dollars in wages over the last three years,” Topping’s attorneys wrote in the complaint.

Matthew Thomson, who represents Topping in the case, said in an interview Topping and their counsel do not know how many Harvard employees have received late pay.

But, he said, he expects “thousands of people” — mostly adjunct faculty — have been affected. He hopes to access the number if the case moves to discovery.

Thomson said that “any retention of a worker's wages beyond the two weeks contemplated by the law can cause serious harm for working people.”

“People have bills to pay, whether they are child care bills, medical bills, credit card bills, student loan payments,” he said.

Two Amherst College employees filed a similar suit in December, claiming that Amherst owed them a total of more than $100,000 in late wages. Thomson’s co-counsel in Topping’s case, Raymond Dinsmore, represents the Amherst employees.

Amherst has maintained that its payment policies comply with Massachusetts law.

— Staff writer Tanya J. Vidhun can be reached at tanya.vidhun@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tanyavidhun.