The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $204,329 in back wages for 429 service employees servicing the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, after investigations of the establishment’s vendors and staffing agencies disclosed significant violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The investigations, conducted under a multiyear enforcement initiative aimed at strengthening labor law compliance in Texas’s hotel and motel industry, found violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions among five companies providing workers to Gaylord Texan for the performance of essential hospitality services such as housekeeping, food service, landscaping, janitorial maintenance and valet services.

FLSA violations by the following companies were disclosed: The H Roslin Staffing Group in Dallas, SMB Services in Dallas, All Team Food Team in Hurst, Xclusive Staffing Inc. in Grapevine and Five Star Laundry-Dallas LLC in Grapevine.

Common FLSA violations found include employers paying “straight time” for all hours worked rather than time and one-half employees’ regular rates for hours over 40 in a week; failing to combine hours worked by employees at multiple job sites; improper wage deductions for uniforms, name badges and background checks, resulting in wages falling below the minimum federal wage; improperly classifying employees as exempt from overtime compensation; and failing to maintain accurate records of employees’ work hours and wages, as required by the act.

Gaylord Texan is owned and operated by Gaylord Hotels, a division of Gaylord Entertainment Co., which operates four resorts across the country. Upon being notified of the division’s investigative findings, Gaylord Entertainment agreed to promote FLSA compliance among its vendors at all four of its locations by requiring the vendors to sign FLSA compliance agreements, providing them with compliance assistance materials and making available to their employees a toll-free complaint hotline.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Additionally, employers must maintain accurate time and payroll records.