State ex rel. Chavis v. Sycamore City School Dist. Bd. of Edn.

**School Tutors Win Fight for Fair Pay** This case involved tutors who worked for Sycamore City School District, providing specialized instruction to learning disabled students and those learning English as a second language. The tutors had individual contracts but argued they should be paid according to the salary schedules outlined in the teachers' collective bargaining agreement. The school district was paying them less than what the union contract specified for similar work. The tutors went to court seeking a legal order (called mandamus) to force the school board to pay them the difference between what they were actually earning and what the collective bargaining agreement said they should earn. A lower court initially denied their request, but the higher court reversed that decision. The court ruled that the school board was wrong to deny the tutors the higher pay rates specified in the collective bargaining agreement's salary schedules. The case was sent back to the lower court for further proceedings. **Why this matters for workers:** This ruling shows that employers cannot ignore pay rates established in collective bargaining agreements, even for workers with individual contracts. If your work is similar to unionized positions, you may be entitled to similar compensation under existing union agreements.