Hospitality Industry Proves Ripe for Wage and Hour Lawsuits

The hospitality industry is particularly affected by wage and hour lawsuits because there is a lot of pressure to control labor costs and the industry has a relatively high turnover rate. Thus, there is the risk of noncompliance with the appropriate wage and hour laws even if you have done everything else to manage your work force. The risks that your business will eventually be the target of a wage-hour lawsuit are higher than they've ever been.

The first step is a wage and hour compliance assessment, which, depending on the size of your company, is relatively painless and inexpensive when compared with the possible consequences of inaction. Make sure your wage and hour house is in order before the government or a lawyer representing your employees or former employees tells you it isn't.

This article appeared in the June 8, 2007 issue of the Portland Business Journal.