Employees who have worked for Chicago-based education technology startup Learnmetrics say the company owes them tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages.
The company, based at the Merchandise Mart tech hub 1871, sells a platform that helps educators monitor school, department and student progress and performance. The company has raised more than $2 million in funding from investors including Hyde Park Venture Partners, Ringleader Ventures and Educated Capital, according to research firm PitchBook Data. It also graduated from startup accelerator Impact Engine, which later reorganized as a venture fund.
But four employees say they’ve filed wage claims against the company after they say Learnmetrics stopped paying them in October. The employees asked to not be named based on legal advice or future job considerations. According to the claims, three of the employees are seeking more than $13,000 each in unpaid wages from the company.
Two of the employees say they have formally resigned from the company.
A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Labor confirmed wage claims have been filed against the company but would not comment further.
“We are a startup,” co-founder and CEO Julian Miller wrote in an email to Blue Sky Wednesday. “Startups often hit cash crunches. We’ve been working on a resolution, which is at hand and we expect the matter to be fully resolved in the next few days. As a company, we are sorry that it came to this, but we’re committed to resolving it, learning from it, and becoming a better company on the other side of it.”
According to PitchBook, Learnmetrics employs 15 people. Miller did not respond to requests for comment on funding or current employee count.
A spokesman for 1871 said the organization does not comment on ongoing matters involving member companies and their employees.
mgraham@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @megancgraham
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