US Department of Labor finds Fairdale country club failed to pay minimum, overtime wages, violated child labor laws; recovers $21K for 43 workers

LOUISVILLE, KY – A Fairdale country club operator failed to pay some workers minimum hourly wages, denied overtime pay to other workers, paid incorrect overtime rates to others, and assigned minor-aged workers duties not permitted by law, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that South Park Country Club Inc. violated the minimum wage, overtime and tipped employee regulations, as well as the recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators found the employer:

• Required employees to share tips with managers.
• Computed overtime based on the direct cash wage rather than the full minimum wage.
• Failed to pay overtime to workers paid on a salary basis.
• Failed to include commission payments when computing the overtime rate, which resulted in the employer paying overtime at a lower rate than the law requires.
• Employed multiple 14 and 15-year-olds for more than 3 hours on a school day or more than 8 hours on a Saturday or Sunday during the school year and past 7 p.m. after Labor Day.
• Permitted two 15-year old workers to drive golf carts and load or unload golf bags from golf carts, in violation of the FLSA.

The division recovered $21,507 in back wages for 43 workers to resolve the minimum wage and overtime violations, and assessed South Park Country Club a $6,190 civil penalty for its child labor violations.

“Country clubs exist to provide their members with a relaxing and entertaining experience made possible by hard-working employees who have the right to be paid all of the wages they’ve earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett-Civils in Louisville, Kentucky. “The operators of South Park Country Club not only failed to ensure workers received required minimum and overtime wages, they violated federal child labor laws by allowing minors to work more hours and later than the law permits, and by assigning them duties considered unsafe for young workers.” 

For information about child labor standards, the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and use its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.