US Labor Department recovers more than $868,000 in back wages for Florida-based timeshare company employees

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $868,443 in back wages for 1,065 employees of Central Florida Investments, based in Orlando, Fla., following an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division.

Central Florida Investments operates timeshare resorts in Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia under the name Westgate Resorts. The investigation included all locations of the company.

"Employers should know that when workers are deprived of their rightful wages, the Labor Department will not hesitate to take action to recover those wages," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "It's not just the right thing to do, it's the law."

The investigation, conducted by the Wage and Hour Division's Jacksonville District Office, determined that employees who scheduled tours of timeshare properties for the company were not paid at least the federal minimum wage for all the hours they worked. Additionally, premium pay for the workers did not include commissions, and overtime work was incorrectly computed. The company also failed to keep accurate timecard records.

As a result of the investigation, the company agreed to correct the errors, make back payments and institute new recordkeeping procedures to ensure employees now are paid correctly according to federal law.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

For more information about this investigation, call the Wage and Hour Division's Jacksonville District Office at 904-359-9292. For more information about the FLSA, call the department's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/whd.