U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Marietta Hotel Company Paying $73,732 in Back Wages and Damages

ATLANTA, GA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, two Marietta-based hotels have paid $73,732 in back wages and liquidated damages to 14 employees for violating minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Division’s investigators determined that Swami Hospitality Corp. Super 8 Hotel - doing business as Super 8 Hotel - and Swami I Hospitality Corp. Ramada Inn - doing business as Limited Suites - paid housekeepers a flat amount per each room cleaned without regard to how many hours they worked. This practice resulted in minimum wage violations when that flat amount yielded less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and in overtime violations when these employees worked more than 40 hours per week with no additional overtime pay.

Division investigators also found additional overtime violations when the employer paid front desk staff straight time for overtime hours and, in one case, paid an employee only for 40 hours each week regardless of how many additional hours the employee worked.

“Employers must understand their obligations and responsibilities under the law. Simply because a pay practice may appear to be common in a particular industry does not, in any way, mean that it complies with the law,” said Jeffrey Genkos, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Atlanta. “The Department of Labor encourages all employers to make use of the many tools the Department provides to help them understand and comply with the law, and to call us for assistance.”

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.