Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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COLUMBUS, Ohio --

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it is beginning a concentrated enforcement effort in Ohio to combat violations of federal minimum wage and overtime pay regulations in the hotel industry, including temporary or leasing agencies that typically provide low-wage workers to the hotel industry.

“In recent years we’ve seen an increase both in the number of temporary, or contracted workers in the hotel industry, and an increase in violations of federal labor standards with respect to these workers,” said George Victory, the district director in Columbus for the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. “We want hotel employers in Ohio and elsewhere to understand that they also may be liable for any pay violations these workers suffer under what are known as joint employment rules.”

Victory explained that generally, joint employment means that an individual worker may be employed by two or more employers at the same time. Determination of joint employment is made on a case by case basis in situations where the employers’ businesses are related and they may be deemed to share control of the employee.

Victory added that hotel operators need to understand that when the joint employment rules apply, they are equally liable and responsible for seeing to it that these workers are paid the wages they are entitled to receive under the law.

The Labor Department intends to conduct a significant number of investigations of hotels, including all joint employers that may be involved. Based on previous investigations conducted by the Columbus district office, Victory believes that nearly 50 percent of hotel employers may be in violation of the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with potentially significant back wage liabilities.

The FLSA requires payment of the federal minimum wage for covered employees and of overtime at time and one-half an employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week. The FLSA also contains record keeping requirements and youth employment standards.

For more information, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1 (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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