NEW YORK — Three New York hotels will pay more than $500,000 in back wages, damages and civil penalties over allegations of not paying overtime, time-and-one-half wages and for false employee pay record keeping.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), three operators of Quality Inn, Country Inn & Suites and Ramada franchises in Queens violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The franchise owners did not pay workers who worked more than 40 hours a week any overtime or time-and-one-half wages and then falsely marked pay records to conceal the violation, the WHD said.
“The willfulness of these violations and actions taken by these employers denied workers the pay that was rightfully and legally due to them,” said WHD New York City district director David An in a statement. “The defendants’ actions also economically undercut employers that adhere to the rules and pay their workers correctly. We provide numerous tools for employers to explain their responsibilities and show them how to avoid violations.”
“The U.S. Department of Labor does not hesitate to take appropriate steps to rectify FLSA violations and pursue outcomes to prevent them from recurring,” added Department of Labor New York regional solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff.
According to the settlement, the hotels will pay $360,543 in back wages and in liquidated damages to more than 80 employees as well as $28,914 in civil penalties, plus post-judgment interest, the WHD said.