Myrtle Beach motel was violating wage laws, then fired employee who complained, suit says
The owner of a Myrtle Beach motel fired an employee last year after that employee told him he was violating federal wage laws, a recent lawsuit alleges.
Reginald Cunningham had been working at the Wayfarer Motel for more than a year, most recently as a front desk representative, when he was fired last January, the complaint states.
He was being paid $9 per hour for the first 40 hours he worked each week and then $8 per hour “off the books” for each subsequent hour worked. Cunningham discovered in late 2021, when he was considering starting his own business, that federal labor laws require employers to pay employees one-and-a-half times their normal rate of pay for overtime, according to the suit.
Cunningham then filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor and sent a letter explaining his complaint to the motel owner, who subsequently fired Cunningham with no reason given. Cunningham alleges the termination is strictly retaliation for the wage complaint.
An employee at the Wayfarer Motel told a reporter Wednesday that the owner — listed in the complaint as I.G. Patel — was out of the country and unreachable. He agreed to pass the reporter’s contact information onto Patel when he next contacts the motel, but that message was not returned before publication.
Patel also owns the Sea Dunes Oceanfront Motel, and the lawsuit claims that all hourly workers at the two motels are paid off the books, in violation of federal wage laws, for overtime hours worked.
In addition to the retaliation lawsuit, a collective action is being prepared against the motels for violating those wage laws, according to a document attached to the case.
An attorney representing Cunningham did not return a message seeking information about that coming case, including how many other employees are included.
This story was originally published January 7, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
