GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Two doctoral students are suing a Michigan State University professor who they say exploited and forced them to work long hours for little to no pay at his engineering company.
The Lansing State Journal reports that the lawsuit filed last month also claims that university officials have known about the allegations against Parviz Soroushian since 2011.
Talal Salem started working for Soroushian at his Lansing lab, Metna Co., after joining the doctoral program in 2017. Salem says Soroushian made him work all hours of the night and wouldn't let him take time off to study for exams.
He suffered multiple shoulder dislocations from the required heavy manual labor.
Soroushian denies the allegations. He's been on paid leave since July, when the university launched an investigation into his conduct.
University spokeswoman Heather Young declined to comment.
