Laws on pay at hotels, motels get extra scrutiny

ViRGINIA BEACH

Warning to local hotels and motels: Don't think of shortchanging your workers when it comes to the minimum wage or overtime pay.

The U.S. Department of Labor is watching you.

Local representatives of the agency said Tuesday that they are stepping up efforts, through enforcement and education, to ensure that the hospitality industry complies with labor laws.

The Labor Department found violations at about 60 percent of local hotels and motels that were investigated in the past three years, said Patricia A.J. Pickett, assistant director of the agency's Wage and Hour Division in its Norfolk office.

"We have seen a lot of employers that are taking advantage of vulnerable workers," particularly those from outside the country, Pickett said. They might try to intimidate employees, she said, by telling them: "You're not going to say anything. You're not supposed to be here."

The agency has made spot-checks at 10 area hotels and motels since April, Pickett said, and will continue to investigate allegations of violations. Penalties could include back wages and fines. It is part of a nationwide initiative by the agency.

Pickett cited a couple of common violations:

Avoiding paying overtime. Some hotel chains, she said, do not pay employees overtime if they work, say, 20 hours per week at one hotel and 25 at another. Workers must be paid one and half times their usual rate for every hour beyond 40 that they work in a week.

Violating minimum-wage laws. For example, when a worker is paid the minimum wage and required to buy a uniform, that's a violation. Employers must pay a wage that covers the uniform's cost so that the employee earns the minimum, which is $7.25 an hour.

The department, Pickett said, also is working harder to educate the public, partnering with organizations including the Mexican consulate. It sponsored a seminar Tuesday at the Meyera Oberndorf Central Library, providing details and data on labor and equal-opportunity laws. Some sessions were translated into Spanish.

The seminar also touched on a growing nuisance for hotels and guests: bedbugs.

The number of reports of bedbugs locally has more than doubled in the past three years, said Angela Sowers, an environmental health specialist for the Virginia Department of Health in Virginia Beach.

"But we've been fortunate here," she said. "We haven't seen the vast amounts that they're seeing in New York and D.C."

Sowers advised hotels to closely inspect such areas as carpets, headboards and box springs, as well as sheets. They also should have policies on how to deal with guests and limit exposure to workers if bedbugs are found.

For more information on labor laws, call the department's toll-free line at 1-866-4US-WAGE or the local office at (757) 441-3490 or go to www.dol/gov/whd. Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com

Over the past three years, the Labor Department has found violations in about 60% of local hotels and motels.