The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $244,126 in back wages for 800 employees of hotels, motels and temporary staffing agencies in Florida. The recoveries were made as part of an enforcement initiative by the Jacksonville, Fla., District Office that began in 2013.

In addition, the division named staffing companies First Class Hospitality Inc. and Uniclass Management LLC as major violators. According to the Department of Labor, investigators found these companies provided labor to client hotels and motels, but incorrectly classified these employees as independent contractors and denied them full wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Many employees were paid on a per-room basis or straight-time wages, without regard to minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. Investigations also found that both companies also failed to have a Family and Medical Leave Act policy.

In response to the investigations, the two companies agreed to pay a total of $87,091 in back wages to 247 affected workers.

First Class Hospitality provided staffing services to Clarion Suites Maingate, The Palms Hotel and Villas and Saratoga Resort Villa, according to the Department of Labor. Uniclass Management LLC provided staffing services to Fairfield Inn Orlando Airport, Hilton Garden Inn, Residence Inn and Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel.

“The hotel and motel industry uses employment arrangements, such as subcontracting, franchising, third-party management and other practices, that obscure the worker-employer relationship and lead to downward pressure on costs, often at the expense of worker wages,” said Daniel White, district director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Jacksonville District Office. “Our ongoing enforcement initiative has successfully identified and remedied systemic labor violations in this industry. We intend to ensure that Florida’s workers are protected against exploitation and that law-abiding hotel and motel employers don’t suffer financially for playing by the rules and paying fair wages.”