Former Florida State assistant sues university for unpaid wages
A former Florida State assistant is suing the university.
Mike Warren, who served as a quality control coach under Jimbo Fisher, says FSU owes him unpaid wages from his time with the school, including his work in the lead up to the 2017 Independence Bowl.
After Fisher’s move to Texas A&M, Warren was bumped up to running backs/special teams coach for the bowl, which FSU won 42-13 over Southern Miss. Warren was not retained when FSU hired Willie Taggart from Oregon to replace Fisher.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, a lawsuit was filed Friday:
The lawsuit claims the university is in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Florida Minimum Wage Act, and that the university’s violation was “willful, intentional and systemic.”
Warren was one of three FSU quality control coaches promoted to an assistant coach (running backs/special teams) for the Seminoles’ bowl victory over Southern Miss Dec. 27 following Fisher’s resignation to become Texas A&M’s new coach.
In the lawsuit, Warren says he “received no compensation at all” for working “approximately 84 hours per week” in the days — Dec. 8 to Dec. 27 — leading up to the bowl game. Warren also alleges he worked an average of more than 100 hours per week during football season but was only paid for 40 hours per week.
Because the NCAA limits staffs to 10 on-field coaches, programs often employ quite a few quality control coaches who work behind the scenes breaking down film and helping the other coaches prepare for future opponents without working with the players. After working as a teacher and assistant coach at a high school in Tallahassee, Warren was hired as a quality control coach in January 2013.
Florida State athletic director Stan Wilcox, in a statement to the Democrat, said the university is aware of the lawsuit.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
