The hotel and motel industry has long been an enforcement priority for the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Recently, however, the WHD has embarked upon a multiyear enforcement initiative focused on the hotel and motel industry in Tennessee. Regulators say they are finding "widespread noncompliance with the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)." In 2011, the WHD found violations at 35 hotels and motels in Tennessee, resulting in $14,552 in civil money penalties and $173,045 in back wages. Despite their best efforts at compliance, due to the complexity of the laws and challenges unique to the hotel and motel industry, employers in this industry often unwittingly find themselves out of compliance with wage-and-hour laws. Rather than educating the industry, recently the WHD has begun increasingly to rely on "gotcha" audits to increase their enforcement statistics. Now, more than ever, it is important for employers to conduct self-audits and perfect the good faith defenses provided under wage-and-hour statutes.

Under the initiative, investigators are visiting hotels and motels in major tourism areas to assess compliance among hotel and motel owners, third-party management companies and staffing agencies providing housekeeping, food service, landscaping and janitorial maintenance. Investigators are also actively engaging parent companies to identify issues and ensure compliance. When violations are found, the WHD has pledged to "pursue corrective action – including litigation, civil money penalties and liquidated damages – to recover workers' wages and ensure accountability under the law."

The WHD is also providing compliance assistance to employers and industry associations – including chambers of commerce and the Tennessee Hospitality Association – on all applicable wage and hour regulations, child labor restrictions and joint employer responsibilities. Additionally, the WHD is conducting outreach programs for workers, community organizations, immigrant rights groups, and foreign consulates to inform them of the ongoing initiative and encourage their participation in promoting industry-wide compliance.