Tag Archives: Fair Labor Standards Act

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Lawsuits to Recover Unpaid Wages and Damages For 89 Workers at Five Hotels Filed by US Labor Department”

“…Investigators from the division’s Columbus District Office found violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime and record keeping provisions for 61 workers jointly employed by Darpan Management and Fantastic Cleaning. Fantastic Cleaning, which provided housekeepers, attendants and laundry DOL staff for the hotels owned and operated by Darpan Management, misclassified the housekeepers, who were employees, as independent contractors. These employees were paid by the room and frequently did not earn enough to make the federal minimum wage…”

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed two lawsuits in the federal district court in Columbus against Darpan Management Inc.; five hotels the company owns and manages; and its owners, Darshan Shah, Vibhakar Shah and Prakash Patel.

One of the lawsuits addresses violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions for the hotel staff directly working for Darpan Management, and the other addresses similar violations for workers jointly employed by Fantastic Cleaning Ltd., a company that provided hotel staff to Darpan Management. The two lawsuits seek back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 89 workers.

For more: http://www.norwalkreflector.com/article/4378786

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Filed under Claims, Employment Practices Liability, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Restaurants In "Well-Known Tourist Areas" Investigated By U.S. Dept. Of Labor Agree To Pay $670,000 In "Unpaid Minimum Wages And Overtime"

“…(Wage and Hour Division investigators)…found widespread labor violations among restaurants in well-known tourist areas in San Francisco and throughout Los Angeles County…culture of noncompliance Hospitality Industry Wage and Hour Litigationadversely impacts the wages and working conditions of many low-wage, vulnerable workers…”

Wage and Hour Division investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor conducted comprehensive reviews of payroll records and employment practices in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, in addition to employee interviews, and found that restaurants were violating minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions.

As a result, 273 restaurant workers will divvy up $672,333 in unpaid minimum wages and overtime compensation, according to the feds.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, as well as time-and-a-half of their regular rates for hours worked over 40 per week. The law also says employers must keep accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the law. If employers don’t abide by these rules, they are liable to pay back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to employees.

For more:  http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/12/restuarant_workers_wage_and_hour_division.php

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Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Oklahoma Restaurant Group Sued By Labor Department For Violating Fair Labor Standards Act; Fixed Salaries Without Overtime And Tips Alleged

“…FLSA-covered employees, who in some cases worked as many as 72 hours in a week, were paid a fixed salary without overtime compensation for hours beyond 40 in a week. In addition to overtime violations, this practice resulted in minimum wage violations because employees did not always receive at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Investigators also found that wait personnel were required to turn their tips over to management at the end of every shift, which caused their pay to fall below the minimum wage. Finally, the employer did not keep proper records as required…”

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Tulsa-based El Tequila LLC and owner Carlos Aguirre after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions. These violations resulted in a total of approximately $1 million in unpaid wages owed to 221 kitchen and wait staff, hosts and bussers at four restaurant locations.

The suit was filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma, Tulsa Division, and it seeks to recover the full amount of back wages for the employees as well as an injunction prohibiting future violations of the FLSA.

“The restaurant industry employs some of our country’s lowest-paid, most vulnerable workers,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “When violations of the FLSA are discovered, the Labor Department will take appropriate action to ensure workers receive the wages they have earned and to which they are legally entitled.”

Violations were found at the company’s restaurants on Memorial Drive and South Howard Avenue in Tulsa, East 86nd Street North in Owasso and North Elm Place in Broken Arrow.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. In accordance with the FLSA, an employer of a tipped employee is required to pay no less than $2.13 an hour in direct wages provided that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages do not equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Employers are required to provide employees notice of the FLSA’s tip credit provisions, to maintain accurate time and payroll records, and to comply with the act’s restrictions applying to workers under age 18.

For more: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20122050.htm#.UIqdN4b0_h8

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Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety And Wage Issues: Hotel Management Should Expect 2011 OSHA Regulations To Require A Written “Injury And Illness Protection Progam” And Dept. Of Labor (DOL) Rule Requiring Full Disclosure On “Worker’s Pay Computation”

 

  • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a regulation mandating that employers have a written health and safety program, referred to as an Injury and Illness Protection Program or “I2P2.”
  • This rule would give an OSHA investigator the authority to find that an injury should have been avoided even if it was not regulated under a specific standard.
  • OSHA will also publish a regulation that will require employers to analyze every employee injury to determine if it is a work-related recordable musculoskeletal injury.
  • This regulation would set the stage for OSHA to revive its controversial ergonomics standard.

 

  • The Wage and Hour Division at DOL has a highly anticipated rule that would greatly expand recordkeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
  • It would require employers to disclose how a worker’s pay is computed and complete a written “classification analysis” for each worker who is exempt or outside of the coverage of the FLSA.

For more:   http://www.worldtrademag.com/Articles/Column/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000932009

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Filed under Health, Injuries, Labor Issues, Legislation, Liability, Risk Management, Training, Uncategorized

Hospitality Industry Employment Risk: Management Must Insure Compliance With H-2B Visa Program Requirements And Fair Labor Standards Act

 “…the hospitality industry is “always on the radar” for potential violations because it employs large numbers of H-2B and younger workers…”

In June and July, employment law firms began issuing legislative alerts to hospitality industry clients, warning them of plans by Wage and Hour Division officials to launch investigations of the hotel and motel industry beginning Oct. 1.

These investigations will center on compliance with H-2B visa program requirements and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The H-2B visa program allows businesses needing one-time, seasonal, peak-load, or intermittent staffing to use foreign workers as temporary labor.

Dolores Quesenberry, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Labor, told Carolina Journal that she was unaware of any increased complaints, but did say the hospitality industry is “always on the radar” for potential violations because it employs large numbers of H-2B and younger workers.

Paul Stone, president of North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association, told CJ that the lodging and restaurant industry is North Carolina’s second largest employer, with approximately 500,000 workers, accounting for 10 percent of the state’s total workforce. Of the 1,600 hotels in North Carolina, only a few employ H-2B workers, Stone said, mostly because the program is so restrictive. Before hiring an H-2B worker, for example, an employer must certify there are no domestic applicants qualified for the position.

Stone wonders why hospitality employers are being targeted with the economy mired in recession. Wage and hour audits and similar investigations disrupt operations and increase costs, especially if an employer has to engage outside counsel or auditors, said Stone.

For more:  http://www.lincolntribune.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=20513

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Filed under Injuries, Legislation, Liability, Risk Management, Training