US Labor Department recovers $23K in back wages, damages for 34 employees denied overtime pay by private sporting club in Greenbrier County

Employer name: The Greenbrier Sporting Club Inc.

Investigation site: One Sporting Club Drive, White Sulphur Springs, WV 24986

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer failed to include compulsory service charges - a mandatory 20 percent service charge to all members for food and beverage services - in their employees’ regular rate of pay. This resulted in the employees not being paid the proper overtime premium of time-and-one-half the regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The division also found the employer failed to identify accurate rates of pay on payroll records. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The affected employees primarily worked in the club’s two restaurant facilities, in occupations that included servers, server assistant, bartender, beverage cart worker, assistant managers, events manager, events set-up, porter and food runner workers.

Back wages/liquidated damages recovered: $11,871 and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

Workers affected: 34

Quote: “Country clubs 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 John DuMont in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “The Wage and Hour Division offers many resources to ensure employees are aware of their rights and to help employers comply with the law. We encourage all employers to make use of the many tools we offer to be sure that they understand their responsibilities.”

Background: The Greenbrier Sporting Club is the private equity club organized for the purpose of offering memberships to those that purchase real estate at The Greenbrier. It offers private amenities that include two lodges and pools, a members-only golf course, two restaurants, a spa, a fitness center and an equestrian center.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the division enforces, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.