West Virginia Resort Workers Awarded Back Pay, Damages

April 4, 2023

News Release | AP

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - Federal labor officials said that nearly three dozen workers at a resort owned by West Virginia’s governor have won $23,000 in back wages and damages after they were denied overtime pay, Monday.

The 34 employees mostly worked in two restaurants at The Greenbrier resort’s Sporting Club, the U.S. Labor Department said in a statement. The private development was formed in 2000 to offer memberships to those that buy real estate at The Greenbrier. Other Sporting Club amenities include a members-only golf course, lodges, pools, a spa, a fitness center and an equestrian center.

In a statement, the Labor Department said the employer failed to include a mandatory 20% service charge for members’ food and beverages in employees’ regular pay rates. It resulted in the workers not being paid the proper overtime rate. The department’s Wage and Hour Division also found the employer failed to identify accurate rates of pay on payroll records. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Country clubs provide their members with a relaxing and entertaining experience made possible by hard-working employees who have the right to be paid all of the wages they’ve earned,” said John DuMont, a Wage and Hour Division district director in Pittsburgh.

Republican Gov. Jim Justice owns the Greenbrier.