After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the operator of the M Star Hotel in Searcy, Ark., Jai Mata LLC, has paid $53,055 in back wages. The wages were to 11 employees to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its overtime and minimum wage requirements.
Investigators found the employer violated the FLSA when it failed to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for every hour they worked; paid employees flat salaries without regard to the number of hours they actually worked, resulting in overtime violations when these employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek without overtime pay; made a monthly deduction from employees’ pay for employer-provided lodging credit without regard to actual costs of that housing; and required employees to live onsite.
Investigators also found the employer failed to keep accurate records of employees’ work hour which violated recordkeeping requirements of the FLSA. The motel also failed to display required FLSA information.
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