In December 2007, plaintiff Matthew Cappuccio, a part-time student at Pepperdine University, was hired at the school’s athletic ticket office in Malibu. Cappuccio claimed that he did not intend to enroll in any courses for the 2010-11 academic year, but that in the summer of 2010, his direct supervisor, Heather Collart, the Associate Athletics Director, offered him the position of Athletics Ticket Office Manager beginning in the fall of 2010. He claimed Collart told him that in order to avoid a wrongful termination lawsuit, the university could not post the Ticket Manager position until two years after the spring of 2009, when the prior Ticket Manager was fired. Thus, Cappuccio claimed that Collart told him that in order to manage the ticket office, his only option was to continue to be classified as a “student worker” in the fall of 2010. However, Cappuccio claimed Collart promised him that he would be hired for the official Ticket Manager position when it became available. In the fall of 2010, the university Athletic Director, Steve Potts, procured a housing exception for Cappuccio — who was then living with his aunt in Bakersfield — to live on the Malibu campus even though he was not a full-time student. Cappuccio claimed that although he didn’t intend to enroll in any classes for the 2010-11 academic year, he did enroll in a single course, which he considered necessary to obtain housing and continue employment on campus. Cappuccio claimed he then worked full-time managing the ticket office in the fall of 2010, where he oversaw, directed, and monitored the ticket office workers’ sales and actions. He also claimed that Collart expected him to work overtime, but that he was told the budget wouldn’t allow it. Cappuccio claimed that as a result, Collart instructed him to move any overtime hours worked to a different date or pay period, where the recorded hours would not appear as overtime worked. Cappuccio claimed he was not paid any wages for the entire period of Feb. 13, 2011 through Feb. 27, 2011. He also claimed he checked his pay stub electronically on March 30, 2011, and noticed five hours — equivalent to $75 in gross pay — was missing from the period of March 14, 2011 through March 27, 2011. In addition, he claimed that as of March 30, 2011, he still didn’t receive a paycheck for the period of Feb. 13, 2011 through Feb. 27, 2011. Cappuccio claimed he subsequently called the Human Resources Department and spoke with Carla Anderson, Associate Director of Compensation and Employment, and complained about the altered March 14, 2011 through March 27, 2011 timecard, the unpaid wages from the Feb. 13, 2011 through Feb. 27, 2011 time period, and Collard moving around the hours he worked to avoid overtime pay. He claimed that immediately after he spoke with Anderson, Collart apologized to him about removing hours from his timecard, but that within one month, his work hours were reduced by over one-third from 30 hours to a maximum of 20 hours per week. Cappuccio claimed that as a result of his reduced schedule, he left early for his summer seasonal employment with the intent of returning to the ticket office in the fall 2011. (Cappuccio claimed he previously worked his summer seasonal job the prior two years without having to be rehired by Pepperdine University upon returning in the fall both years.) In the fall of 2011, Cappuccio noticed that the official Ticket Manager position was finally posted online. However, Cappuccio claimed that Collart told him over the phone that he was ineligible to be hired. Cappuccio claimed that after exchanging emails with Collart about his eligibility, she never followed up with him again. He claimed he later discovered that the Ticket Manager position was filled, that his employee credentials were no longer active, and that he could not log into his employee email address. Cappuccio sued Pepperdine University, alleging that the university’s actions constituted retaliation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and wrongful termination/failure to hire in violation of public policy. Cappuccio alleged — and stated in his email to Collart after being told he was ineligible — that he successfully completed all of the duties required of him for well over a year without receiving the deserved salary and benefits of a full-time employee. He also alleged that Collart hand-picked him for the Ticket Manager position, since she believed he was the best fit for the role, and that she further told him money provided by the West Coast Conference Grant would be used to fund the position. He claimed, instead, what followed was a series of adverse employment actions, including the failure to pay wages and overtime, a reduction in his work schedule, the failure to hire him for the official Ticket Manager position, and his termination in May 2011. Cappuccio argued that when he left the ticket office to start his summer seasonal employment early in 2011, Associate Athletics Director Cindy Del Dosso told Human Resources that Cappuccio, “…will not be returning.” Defense counsel argued that Cappuccio’s hours were never reduced below their intended level, that Cappuccio chose to leave his position and was not terminated, that Cappuccio was not offered the official Ticket Manager position because he did not apply, and that Collart and Del Dosso did not influence or control the hiring decision. Counsel contended that Cappuccio’s student employment ended in December 2010, when Cappuccio was academically dismissed, and that the university then retained Cappuccio as a temporary employee for the period January 2011 to May 2011. Defense counsel acknowledged that in March, 2011, Cappuccio complained to Human Resources that he was missing a paycheck, that hours had been removed from a timecard, and that he had been told to report overtime hours as regular hours on different days. However, counsel contended that the Human Resources Department investigated and resolved Cappuccio’s concerns. Defense counsel then presented evidence that Cappuccio’s hours were consistent with an existing limit on hours for his position and with the needs of the department; that Cappuccio was not terminated, but rather he left his position before his assignment ended; and that Cappuccio was not told he was ineligible to apply for the Ticket Manager position and would have been considered for the position if he had applied. Thus, defense counsel denied there was any retaliation or wrongful termination on the party of Pepperdine University., Cappuccio sought recovery of past and future lost wages for a period of over five years. He also sought recovery of $3 million in emotional distress damages based on his wrongful termination claim.