The U.S. Department of Labor recently sued a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, seeking back wages and liquidated damages for hotel staff whose hours, wages and overtime were improperly handled, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. Such an event came about because the management company, called Darpan, did not properly log hours for the workers. If the company had used an HR back office service or even hired temporary staff through an employer of record, such an event could have been avoided.
As it stood, the DOL found violations of minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions for 61 workers who were employed by Darpan Management and Fantastic Cleaning, which is owned by Darpan.
The Norwalk Reflector reported misclassifying workers is a problem not only for employees, but for employers and for the entire U.S. economy as well. Darpan Management will likely have to pay $42,288 or more because of its error. The Department of Labor has been cracking down on these cases lately, and it is a better idea to find an appropriate temporary staffing company that will take the problem of HR and compensation out of the company's hands. It doesn't matter whether the company deals with cleaning services, hotel services or finance or anything else – temporary staff are quickly becoming a common solution for hiring workers.