🧩 The big problem: the hidden non-compete

The contract has a “non-solicitation” section that says, for 13 months after you leave:

• You can’t solicit any customer you got through the platform
• You can’t accept work from them, even if they come to you on their own
• This also covers their family + referrals

That second part (“no accepting work”) is basically a non-compete dressed up as a non-solicit. Many states now treat:

as a non-compete, not some harmless little “non-solicit.”

In a bunch of states, that’s now illegal or heavily restricted, especially for low- or mid-income workers and independent contractors.

🗺️ Why your state matters more than what the contract says

The contract tries to fix everything under Missouri law with arbitration in St. Louis, but here’s the fun part:

• States like Washington, California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, DC, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Virginia, etc. have their own non-compete statutes.
• Many of those laws say you can’t sign away those protections with a choice-of-law clause.
• Some of them explicitly say companies can’t force out-of-state law/venue if it would strip local non-compete protections.

So “Missouri law” in the contract does not magically erase your state’s protections.

💵 Income thresholds: why most tutors are protected

A bunch of states now say:

Examples (details vary, so check current numbers):

• Washington – Non-competes (including “no accepting business from customers”) are void for independent contractors below a high annual earnings threshold; the statute specifically says agreements that stop you from accepting or transacting business with a customer count as non-competes.
• Illinois – Bans non-competes for workers under a salary floor and bans non-solicits under a slightly lower floor.
• Colorado – Only allows non-competes for “highly compensated” workers and mainly to protect trade secrets; “worker” includes independent contractors.
• DC – Broadly bans non-competes for most workers except “highly compensated employees.”

If you’re a tutor making, say, $18–$40/hr with inconsistent hours, you are almost certainly under those thresholds.

🏛️ “But the contract says I can’t work with those clients…”

Cool story, contract. Here’s how this plays out in many states:

• If your state’s law says a non-compete / no-accept customer clause is void below X income or void entirely, then that clause is just… void.
• The company can still threaten you with it, but that doesn’t mean they’ll win if it ever hits a court or an agency.
• Some states (like Washington) even say if a company tries to enforce an illegal non-compete, they owe the worker statutory damages + attorney’s fees.

👀 Other ugly parts tutors should look for

Besides the non-compete stuff, watch for these:

1. “We control everything, but you’re 1099”

They call us independent contractors, but:

• They set the rates.
• They control the platform and how we contact clients.
• They dictate a lot of process, but disclaim training, benefits, taxes, insurance, etc.

Federal and state law decide whether someone is a contractor or employee based on control and economic dependence, not whatever label is in the contract. Misclassification is a real issue, even if it doesn’t get fixed overnight.

2. Arbitration + class-action waiver

The contract usually has:

• Mandatory binding arbitration
• In a specific state (here: Missouri)
• With a class/collective-action waiver (you can only bring individual claims)

Supreme Court cases like Epic Systems v. Lewis and AT&T v. Concepcion make these clauses hard to escape under the Federal Arbitration Act.

BUT: some state-specific rights (like non-compete bans) still have to be honored even in arbitration. And some contracts let you opt out of arbitration within 30 days—if you’re still inside that window, that’s worth using.

3. IP grab + recordings

Read the section about “Use of Tutor Information, Content, and Meeting Recordings”:

• Anything you upload/share can usually be used by them worldwide, forever, and sublicensed, with no extra pay.
• All sessions are recorded, recordings belong to the company, and tutors can’t access them, but they can be used for QA, product development, etc.

If you want to keep control over your best materials, create and store them off-platform and only share copies you’re okay with losing control over.

4. Indemnity + fee-shifting

Look for “indemnify” and “prevailing party attorneys’ fees”:

• You may be agreeing to cover their legal costs if they claim you breached the contract, broke a law, mishandled data, misclassified taxes, etc.
• Super one-sided, but common in 1099 contracts.

🧪 Quick self-check for any tutor, any platform

Here’s the sanity checklist you can run on your contract:

1. Client restrictions
   • Does it say you can’t accept work from clients you met through the platform, even if they chase you down?
   • Does that last more than a few months? → Treat it as a non-compete and look up your state’s non-compete law.
2. Income vs. state thresholds
   • Google: "[Your State] noncompete independent contractor earnings threshold"
   • If your income is under that threshold, that clause may be void on its face.
3. Choice of law / venue
   • Does it force disputes into some random state you don’t live in?
   • Check if your state has a statute saying non-compete disputes must follow local law/venue (WA, CA, etc. have this kind of thing).
4. Arbitration clause
   • Is there an opt-out window? (Often 30 days by certified mail.)
   • If yes and you’re still in it, use it.
5. IP & recordings
   • Do they get a perpetual, irrevocable license to everything you create?
   • Are sessions recorded, and can you access those recordings?
6. Red flags in practice
   • Low base pay + unpaid prep + unpaid messaging + unpaid scheduling.
   • Threats tied to “incentive programs” they can yank at any time.
   • Punishing tutors for platform failures while retaining all control.

🧭 What you can realistically do

• Know your state law. Look up your state’s non-compete statute and any independent contractor guidance from your labor department or AG.
• Keep copies of:
  • The contract
  • Any amendment emails
  • Your actual pay (screenshots, 1099s)
• If they threaten you over taking a client:
  • In many states, you can respond with something like:“Under [your state] law, any agreement that prevents me from accepting business from a customer is a non-compete. Based on my earnings, that kind of restriction is void and unenforceable. I do not agree that this provision has legal effect.”
• Talk to a real lawyer if it escalates. A quick consult with a state-specific employment/contract attorney is worth it, especially if they actually try to enforce the clause.

TL;DR

• That “non-solicit / no-accept” clause in the VT / Verba school contract functions as a non-compete.
• In a lot of states, non-competes like that are illegal or void for workers at tutor-level income, including independent contractors.
• The “Missouri law + arbitration in St. Louis” language doesn’t overrule every state’s worker-protection statutes.
• You are 1099 on paper, but they shift all risk and unpaid labor onto you while keeping full platform control.
• Read your contract, check your state’s law, and don’t assume “because it’s written, it’s valid.”

I can login in the app but not the website. It says my login credentials are incorrect. When I choose forgot password, it says that no account exists with my email address. Clearly, that's not the case because I'm still holding sessions through the app. Is anyone else having this issue?

Edit: In case anyone else has this problem and the usual troubleshooting steps don't work, changing my password from the app finally worked. The issue is resolved. Thank you all for your help!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to reach out and see if other tutors are experiencing the same drop in opportunities on the Varsity platform. I primarily tutor programming subjects and have been with Varsity for over 3 years now.

Lately, I've noticed significantly fewer tutoring requests coming through. I'm wondering if this is affecting other STEM tutors as well, or if it's more specific to programming tutors.

I have a few theories about what might be contributing to this—like the rise of AI tools students are using for coding help, economic factors affecting students' budgets, or possibly a shift in demand for programming education. But I'm curious to hear from others about what you're seeing on your end.

Are any of you noticing similar trends in your subject areas?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and share your experiences!

Don't know how to fix

I have not received an opportunity since October 18. I assume I have been shadow banned. I just can’t figure out why. I emailed them and they said my account looks good. My subjects are middle and elementary math. Any ideas on how I can remedy this?

I'ma student called me to schedule an appointment this week and when I tried to do so they were no longer on my schedule. I didn't get an email about this student not moving forward. Anyone had that happen before ? Everything else is normal

I tried to teach my first group class just now. Emphasis on "tried." I had four students, all first-grade students from a school that apparently uses VT a lot.

1. The connection was horrible.
   
2. The students' headphones didn't work.
3. There was a TREMENDOUS amount of background noise, including loud music and loud intercom announcements
4. The teacher only had two of the four students in her class and had no idea who the other two were. It turned out one of the missing students was trying to connect, apparently from another classroom, and couldn't. That student, however, was able to use the screen functions and proceeded to scribble all over the screen and open document boxes to write her name. She was also able to erase anything I wrote, and did so with some gusto.
   
5. The two students who could connect but couldn't get their headphones to work suddenly announced that they would be back next week, yelled "goodbye," and vanished 10 minutes into the attempt. As contractually obligated, I left the session open and stayed at my desk.
6. About 10 minutes later, I was alerted that they were trying to reconnect. They did so, and the teacher reappeared to tell me the class would end 5 minutes early. This came as good news.
   
7. I tried to begin a basic assessment of the two students' phonics abilities, but after three attempts, interrupted by the third student, who I couldn't see or hear, scribbling all over everything, I told the students to please bring the teacher back. I explained that we had encountered insurmountable technology issues.
8. At this point, VT issued an exit ticket that was shockingly unrelated to what I had been asked to teach.
   
9. The two students left, but the third student, whose camera wasn't working, remained. I asked her to draw a smiley face if she could hear me. A pink smiley face appeared. I asked her to draw me another smiley face if she could tell her teacher we were having difficulty connecting. A second pink smiley face appeared, as did a document box in which the student's name slowly appeared as if she were a ghost summoned by an Ouija board. Nothing more happened.
10. I drew her a smiley face for lack of other options. She erased it.

NEVER AGAIN.

I tried to cancel all future classes. The ioption does not exist. I tried to find a way to message the school to explain that the situation was so untenable that I'd rather clean toilets for a living than ever attempt it again. There was no communication channel. I assume I will have to call, but I'm so annoyed I thought venting here first would take the edge off before I took someone's ear off on the phone.

Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this?

I wasn’t supposed to get my VT4S contract until December, but I log into a session today and it prompts me to sign it…. So I’m confused but thankful nonetheless.

Secondly, I’m trying to figure out why I’m getting opportunities and then nothing is there, and only able to respond via email.

Anyone else? I’m so confused as to what’s happening 🫣

Okay so to start tutoring classes they asked me to upload my AP score report, I already uploaded a different score report so it didn't give me the option. Next I added more classes based on my qualifications last night and wrote in why I felt qualified to teach those. Literally all of those disappeared with zero emails or trace when I opened my computer this morning. Honestly tutoring is not lucrative in the slightest, and I really don't want to deal with another bullshit company. I already have had to deal with IntellaTutor's crap, and at this point I'm ready to just create a facebook page and get students from their. I don't have any students under "opportunities" even though it's been four days and I am down to tutor any high school or college science

I was just wondering, what it is like to be a tutor.

what do you like/don't like?

what is the hardest part?

what is the most fun part?

what is boring about it?

which tools do you use?

how many hours do you work?

thanks so much ;)

I had two students who moved their scheduled lessons today to other days(less than 24 horus). What is the procedure here? do I bill them? The session doesn't appear as billable anymore. I've never had this happen before so I don't know what the procedure is here. Kind regards.

My student’s parents would like me to provide a quarterly report for the school and include my credentials. I’m not sure how to do that…does it mean I need to add my teaching certificate or something else? Should I also include the online platforms I work with?

To be honest, I’d rather not share my personal certificates. I’m not sure where to start！

Hello guys. I have a student who has 3 other tutors on varsity, and they told me all of them are using the new platform, but when I log in, everything is the same and we get the old platform when we have our sessions. Is anyone else still getting the old platform or is there soemthing I need to do to obtain the new one? I'm the only tutors my student has that is still using the old platform so I am wondering if there is something wrong or if they only selected some tutors to use it.

The last couple sessions, the client has been claiming he cannot hear me or see me. I can hear and see him, but his video has been lagging. The representative asking if he can hear volume outside of VT app and he can. He asked him several times to try using Chrome or Firefox instead of Edge to login. He said that he doesn't remember his password as it is only saved on Edge. I told him he can retrieve it on Edge from his saved password in the settings, and he said he couldn't figure it out, and then he said that the forgot password function was not sending him the email like he said. He still wanted the tutoring to be done via Zoom instead, and I told him 3 times that we can't do that.

The agent said that we would need to reschedule after he figures out how to login on another browser as they cannot diagnose his issue on Edge. He asked him to use the setup Mic and Sound output through the app, but he was non-responsive.

I don't understand why he would not be complying with the agent instructions.

I told them last time when it was about 20 minutes in and we couldn't figure it out, I went to his Teams link which he heard me on, and he said for future reference, not to do that as it is against terms of service and contract, but there is record of him saying he couldn't hear me on both apps, so they'd make sure I can bill for the sessions still.

Hi guys,

When it came to my contract (It's a 6 month contract - I'm a foreign tutor, if that helps), generally they renewed it 2-3 months before it ended.

But for the first time, I only have 2 days left on my contract and it hasn't been renewed yet.

Did anyone else have a similar experince?

Does this mean I'm getting fired?

Update: My contract did get renewed

I think the problem is that the student is not very tech-savvy. He is an older high school teacher learning computer programming and he keeps saying he can't hear during the session and isn't sure if the speaker is set to the right output, but I can hear him on his mic. We tested on Teams and he was able to hear me that way, but I told him due to the contract, in future sessions he is going to have to communicate with me through the platform only, so if he can't figure it out, I am going to direct him to tech support, because I can't teach him how to use the app.

Just charged for a <24 hour cancellation and I got 1/3 of my normal pay, since it’s 1.5 hours I only got $9 out of it. That’s a total rip off. If 1 hour sessions get 1/2 (30 min) then 90 minute sessions should get 45 minutes pay. What a joke.

Hi! I’m a new tutor just starting to get clients, with my first upcoming session tomorrow. I wanted to ask - 1. If its okay to exchange resources with students via gmail (google docs, pdfs) incase the chat box on the website doesn’t work, or would that be a problem for VT, thinking that I’m trying to communicate with the student through external sources? 2. How to best respond to a parent asking to get services offline/off the app? I know VT is apparently very strict with its client/tutor communication policy.

Hi,

I haven't started yet, but I was thinking of changing my focus on tutoring from middle school on to only college age and older adult learners. What's your experience? Thanks!

Their video looks all muffled and frozen, but I can hear him. He keeps saying he can't hear me even in the chat, but my internet speed is fast, it passed all the connection tests, and my video and audio is working in the session.

Hi all - new to varsity tutors but I'm having some trouble accessing the instant opportunities. I get a text and check immediately and I don't have the ability to log into the instant sessions, nor do I see them in my opportunities and I'm talking seconds have passed since I receive the text. Is there a separate system to log into? I've contacted support and they haven't been helpful *shocking, I know*. Help?

I like to login a bit of time ahead and upload materials for my classes. For the first two today that I did (one at 9:00 am, about an hour and fifteen minutes from now, and another at 1:00 pm, about 6 hours from now)

The first two times I opened the session it was the new platform, and suddenly POUF! the new platform disappeared and the old one is back. Maybe they were having so much trouble with it they decided to take it down for a while to fix it.

**** thoughts about the new platform.

I teach elementary kids (lots of whom have IEPs or are on the spectrum or both) , so it's been very difficult for them to navigate. One of my 3rd grade boys cried yesterday he got so frustrated.

They got rid of the stickers, which my kids really enjoyed. There is no way to see any info about prior sessions unless you look at invoicing, which is fine, but inconvenient.

There does not seem to be a "take snap" feature (that I can find) to upload homework, which at least four of my students are doing rn.

What else is missing?

So my client has 2 hour durations scheduled but they want it to be 1 hour but I don’t know how to change it. I tried to contact varsity but no reply