Veterinary Residents and Interns Underpaid? Wage Lawsuit
Last Updated on January 27, 2025
At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- Anyone who obtained a veterinary residency or internship through the Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program (VIRMP) in the past four years.
- What’s Going On?
- Attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe VIRMP and several veterinary colleges and hospitals may have paid illegally low wages to veterinary residents and interns through the matching program. They’re now looking into whether a class action lawsuit can be filed.
- How Could a Lawsuit Help?
- A class action lawsuit could help compensate vet interns and residents who may have been underpaid and potentially bring about industry changes to ensure that interns and residents are paid a fair salary.
- What You Can Do
- If you obtained an internship or residency through the veterinary matching program in the past four years, fill out the form on this page to help the investigation.
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into whether a class action lawsuit can be filed against the Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program (VIRMP) and several large veterinary colleges and hospitals.
Specifically, they believe that veterinary residents and interns who matched through the VIRMP may have been subject to low wages, long hours and poor working conditions in violation of the law.
If you got an internship or residency through the Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program in the past four years, you may be able to help start a class action lawsuit on behalf of yourself and other participants. Fill out the form on this page to share your story and learn more.
Complaints About Veterinary Residency Salary, Internship Pay
People have complained on online forums like Reddit about the average veterinary residency salary and vet internship pay, noting that residents and interns get paid far less than the average recently licensed veterinarian—and many times less than minimum wage considering the number of hours worked per week.
One user warned that doing an internship or residency instead of practicing right out of vet school could be a “bad financial decision” considering the difference in salary.
Others noted that higher paying residencies and internships were usually located in areas with a high cost of living, making it difficult for the average vet resident or intern to make ends meet.
Even the American Veterinary Medical Association warns prospective veterinary interns about the “financial implications” of choosing to do an internship, noting on its website that the average veterinary internship salary in 2018 was $32,794, compared to the average salary of $82,894 in private practice.
How Could a Class Action Lawsuit Help?
A class action lawsuit could potentially provide money for veterinary residents and interns who may have been underpaid due to violations of the law. It could also bring about changes to the matching program to ensure that veterinary residents and interns are compensated fairly.
What You Can Do
Did you obtain a veterinary internship or residency through the Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program within the past four years? Fill out the form on this page to share your story.
After you get in touch, an attorney or legal representative may reach out to you directly to ask you a few questions and explain how you may be able to help get a class action lawsuit started. It doesn’t cost anything to fill out the form, and you’re not obligated to take legal action if you don’t want to.
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