Hotel managers on-call 24 hours a day were paid $600 a month in Georgia, feds say
The managers at several hotels in a picturesque tourist town known as “Georgia’s Little Bavaria” were grossly underpaid while living on-site and being expected to stay on-call for guests 24 hours a day, according to labor department officials.
When federal investigators got wind, the owner reportedly told his managers not to cooperate.
Now the U.S. Department of Labor is suing.
According to a civil lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Georgia on Feb. 22, at least four hotels in Helen and their owner, Ashvin Patel, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying managers below the minimum wage and threatening to retaliate against them for filing complaints.
“Employers are required to comply with all applicable anti-retaliation laws, including those meant to ensure worker protection regarding wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Regional Solicitor of Labor Tremelle Howard said in a news release.
Patel did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Feb. 24, and information regarding his legal representation was not immediately available.
The other named defendants include America’s Best Value Inn, Hofbrau River Front Hotel, Budgetel Inn and Jameson Hotel — all places of accommodation in Helen, a popular tourist destination and trail town in the Blue Ridge Mountains known for looking like a recreated Bavarian village.
According to the labor department’s complaint, Patel hired four managers to look after the front desk, oversee housekeeping and handle maintenance requests at each of his hotels. He paid all but one of them $600 a month and provided room and board in exchange for their labor.
The fourth manager was paid $700 a month plus room and board, officials said.
At least one of the managers worked shifts from 6:30 a.m. until 11 p.m., the complaint states, and all of the managers were expected to be on-call during the night.
“Defendants required all managers to leave their cell phone numbers posted at the front door for all after-hours issues,” labor department officials said. “All managers lived at the hotels they worked for the benefit of the defendants, as they were required to be available for hotel guests 24 hours per day.”
A Department of Labor investigation was launched in May 2020 after one of the managers filed a complaint.
Patel met with his managers once he heard about the investigation, the lawsuit states. He reportedly coached them on what to say if they were approached by investigators, urging them to lie and say they received $400 in tips every month and only worked eight hours a day.
Officials said he was also clear about what he thought of the person who complained.
“If anybody’s not happy now and they feel that now they don’t want to do this anymore, they want to get out, they want to leave, now’s your chance if anybody wants to go,” Patel reportedly told the managers. “Does anybody want to leave? No? You’re all good? Okay. I want to make sure everybody’s happy… because whoever did this, (they’re) done.”
He is also accused of making “veiled threats” about firing whoever was responsible, saying they will have to “find another job and find a place to rent,” according to the complaint.
Patel zeroed in on one manager in particular, who officials said he accused of “ratting” him out. The labor department said at one point he told her “that things could get ugly and nasty for every one involved.” About two months after the investigation was launched, Patel reportedly demoted her to a housekeeper position at another hotel.
But the woman had mobility issues caused by back problems and struggled with the physical labor, according to the complaint.
When she told Patel the pain prevented her from working, he reportedly told her to leave if she couldn’t clean the rooms. She eventually quit in July 2020.
The Department of Labor asked a judge to enjoin Patel and his hotels from further violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also asked for three years worth of back wages and additional damages.
Court filings show neither Patel nor his hotels have responded to the complaint.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Hotel managers on-call 24 hours a day were paid $600 a month in Georgia, feds say."
