The University of the Arts Facing Class Action Lawsuit After Abrupt Closure

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The University of the Arts faces a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the Philadelphia school failed to provide the requisite 60 days’ advance notice to staff before abruptly announcing on May 31, 2024, that it would close for good.

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The 15-page lawsuit accuses UArts of violating the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act when it effectively executed a mass layoff amid the school’s unprecedented closure without providing at least 60 days’ advance written notice of the terminations. 

UArts employees who lost their jobs when the school closed its doors on June 7 are owed 60 days’ worth of wages and benefits, “none of which has been paid,” the complaint, filed on June 4, says.

Nearly 150 years old, the University of the Arts was the largest institution of its kind in the United States, offering programs in design, fine arts, media arts, crafts, music, dance, theater and writing, the lawsuit explains. According to the suit, there exists no precedent for a nonprofit college to close so abruptly. Per NBC News, more than 1,000 students and hundreds of faculty were left “confused and anxious” by UArts’ announcement.

News of the closure of UArts was followed by on-campus protests by students and staff who said they were left without answers as to why UArts did not notify either group sooner or better prepare for the university’s financial downfall.

In a statement, UArts said that it “could not overcome the ultimate challenge we faced: with a cash position that has steadily weakened, we could not cover significant, unanticipated expenses.” The school’s accreditation was withdrawn on June 1, NBC reported.

“[UArts] failed to pay Plaintiffs and the Other Similarly Situated Former Employees their respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay, and accrued vacation for sixty (60) calendar days following their respective terminations and failed to make the 401(k) contributions and provide health insurance coverage and other employee benefits under ERISA in respect to them for sixty (60) calendar days from and after the dates of their respective termination.”

According to the proposed class action, UArts employed more than 100 employees who in aggregate worked at least 4,000 hours per week, exclusive of overtime hours. Further, the mass layoff as part of UArts’ closure resulted in the loss of employment for at least 50 employees, and at least 33 percent of its workforce, the suit says.

The UArts class action lawsuit looks to cover former University of the Arts employees who were terminated by the school on or around May 31, 2024.

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