US Department of Labor offers webinar for hospitality industry employers, workers, other stakeholders for Hospitality Worker Appreciation Day

Who:               U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division          

What:             Labor law webinar for Hospitality Worker Appreciation Day 

When:             Feb. 22, 2024, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST   

Where:           Online webinar. The event is free, but registration is required. 

Background: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division – in coordination with the Women’s Bureau, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Agency and the Office of Foreign Labor Certification – will mark Hospitality Worker Appreciation Day by offering a webinar on federal regulations governing workers’ wages and benefits and employers’ responsibilities in hotels, motels, restaurants and staffing agencies in the Southeast. 

This multi-agency event will provide information on the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions as well as requirements under H-2B visa program. The webinar will also cover the employment relationship as it applies to staffing agencies and clients. Participants will also receive compliance information relevant to laws enforced by the EEOC and OSHA. In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division identified violations in 92 percent of more than 1,500 investigations in the hospitality industry and recovered more than $9.3 million in back wages for more than 8,900 workers. The agency also assessed more than $1.3 million in civil money penalties to employers found in violation of the law. 

Quote: “Hospitality workers provide critical labor that allows industry employers to be profitable and enables guests to enjoy their accommodations,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “We’ve designed this webinar to meet the hospitality industry’s unique needs in the hope that we can educate employers – including staffing agencies – on their legal responsibilities and help workers understand how we safeguard their wages and benefits.”