Buffalo-Area Innkeeper Cited for Overtime, Pay Violations

Tonawanda, NYThe operator of a Day's Inn in the Buffalo area is facing an overtime pay citation that will run him close to half a million dollars. The Buffalo News reported on 9/4/10 that Bhagwanji Kunvarji and his business, known as Haven Hospitality, has allegedly been less than hospitable to four housekeepers who have been employed at Kunvarji's Day's Inn located in the Town of Tonawanda.

While the innkeeper's attorney questions the State of New York's claim against his client, the State Labor Department has nonetheless issued an order requiring Kunvarji to pay nearly $443,000 to resolve pay and wage issues involving his four employees.

Three of the housekeepers have been employed at the Niagara Falls Boulevard Hotel for some years. The fourth has been there only a few days. All are eligible for compensation after the State Labor Department alleged the proprietor of the hotel failed to pay his housekeepers minimum wage as well as overtime. A fee of $128,500 represents unpaid wages going back to 2001. The remaining value of the judgment represents interest owed on the unpaid wages and overtime, plus various penalties.

A spokesperson for the Labor Department could not say if the three longest-serving housekeepers are still employed by the facility. It is also not known if the employees triggered the complaint. The spokesperson for the Labor Department said his department does not necessarily disclose the source of the complaint.

Kunvarji's legal counsel expressed surprise at the size of the overall penalty, which he said was twice what was claimed to be owed in back wages. Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the Labor Department, Michelle Duffy, said that the dollar amount attached to a compliance order depends on various factors: the size of the organization, the "good faith" of the employer, the gravity of the monetary violations, nonwage and record-keeping violations.

Overtime labor laws exist to ensure that employees receive fair pay for working over and above the hours they are normally scheduled to work.