Best Western Hotel in Tennessee Pays $63,419 in Back Wages, Damages, And Penalties after U.S. Department of Labor Finds Wage Violations

JOHNSON CITY, TN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), S&S Hospitality LLC – operator of the Best Western Hotel & Conference Center in Johnson City, Tennessee – has paid $56,999 in back wages and liquidated damages to 15 employees for violating the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer also paid $6,420 in civil money penalties for the willful and repeat nature of the violations.

A WHD investigation determined that S&S Hospitality LLC violated minimum wage requirements when it manipulated payroll records to reduce the number of work hours it recorded and paid to employees, leaving some hours unpaid. The employer further violated minimum wage requirements when it paid a husband-and-wife cleaning crew only for the hours worked by one member of that team. Additional minimum wage violations resulted when the employer failed to pay a former employee for all of the hours accumulated during their final workweek with the company. The employer’s practice of manipulating payroll records to reflect workweeks of 40 hours or fewer, despite employees working beyond 40 hours, resulted in overtime violations when those overtime hours went unpaid. Erroneous rounding practices led to records reflecting fewer hours than were actually worked, and to further overtime violations.  The manipulation of the time records resulted in the employer failing to keep an accurate record of all the hours employees worked, in violation of FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

“The U.S. Department of Labor remains committed to ensuring employees receive all the wages they have rightfully earned and that employers compete on a level playing field,” said Wage and Hour District Director Nettie Lewis, in Nashville, Tennessee. “Other employers should use the back wages, damages and penalties found due in this case as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure they comply with the law.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the WHD, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE(487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the FLSA. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.