NEW YORK (AP) — Employees of Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University are suing the colleges over their handling of employee retirement plans.

Missouri law firm Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, which represents the employees, said the universities chose costly plans that resulted in employees paying millions of dollars in "unreasonable and excessive fees."

The three class action lawsuits, one against each college, say the schools did not live up to their obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. That law requires them to act in the best interest of participants and plan beneficiaries. The lawsuits say the colleges failed to pick the best-performing or least expensive plans and that employees had fewer retirement assets as a result.

The lawsuit against MIT also challenges the college's relationship with Fidelity Investments, suggesting it was influenced by the fact that Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson is a member of the MIT board of trustees.

NYU spokesman John Beckman said the university is careful in choosing and administering retirement plans for employees and that its decisions are influenced by feedback from employees. He added that NYU expects to litigate the case.

An MIT spokesman said the university does not comment on pending litigation.