Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Printer-Friendly Version

Press Releases

CINCINNATI, OH --

Sun Development & Management Corp., doing business as Comfort Suites, has paid $11,354 in overtime back wages to 39 workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Indianapolis-based firm operates 29 Comfort Suites in Ohio, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Georgia.

“The Labor Department is committed to vigorously enforcing the law to ensure that employees are paid all of the wages they are owed,” said George Victory, district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Columbus.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated Sun Development & Management Corp. in Springfield, Ohio, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal wage and hour law. The investigation disclosed that 11 hourly paid employees were not paid overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a week. Two managers were paid less than the minimum salary required for exemption from overtime pay. The 13 employees were owed $2,587 in back wages. The violations occurred during the period November 2002 to December 2004.

The FLSA requires employees to be paid the minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

However, the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain job duty and salary tests. Under the Labor Department’s new FairPay rules, workers earning less than $23,660 per year – or $455 per week – are guaranteed overtime protection.

After the Wage and Hour Division explained the requirements of the law, the company agreed to compute overtime back wages owed to employees at other hotels who were paid less than $455 in salary per week. The company’s audit disclosed that 26 additional management employees were owed $8,766. The company agreed to pay the back wages and to comply with the FLSA in the future.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

###

U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.