US Department of Labor recovers more than $114K in back wages, damages for 100 employees denied overtime by Orlando-based hotel staffing agency

Employer:   APDC Cleaning Services Inc.

                     5824 Precision Drive, Orlando, FL 32819

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that a Florida hotel staffing company failed to combine hours worked by 100 employees at several locations paying them straight-time rates for all hours worked, including overtime hours. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the required time-and-a-half overtime premium for hours over 40 hours in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages:        

$57,177 in back overtime wages

$57,177 in liquidated damages                                               

Quote: “The hard work done by hospitality industry workers allows guests to enjoy their accommodations. Often, they work long hours and deserve to be paid all their legally earned wages, including overtime,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “When employees work at more than one location, their employers must combine hours worked at all locations to calculate overtime wages properly. The Wage Hour Division is committed to safeguarding workers’ rights to get paid their rightfully earned wages.”

Background: Operating at 19 hotels in Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina, APDC Cleaning Services Inc. provides workers for various jobs, including cleaning and maintenance positions at hotels and other hospitality worksites.

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

To help employers in the hospitality industry avoid FLSA violations, the department’s division will hold a webinar during National Tourism Week on May 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT. The webinar is free, but registration is required. 

Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of their immigration status. The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for android devices, available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.