A Marriott in Anaheim, California, has been ordered to pay $12.5 million to former employees whose positions were filled with new hires and less-experienced co-workers when the hotel reopened after pandemic restrictions lifted in 2021, a violation of state labor-protection laws.
The regulations require employers in the hospitality business to bring back employees on the basis of seniority after a shutdown. The office of the California labor commissioner found the hotel had used an outside agency to re-staff. In other instances, jobs were given to less-seasoned and presumably lower-paid individuals who were in other positions when the property suspended operations.
The back wages will be divided among the 28 employees who were not immediately rehired. The recipients include former cooks, banquet captains, bellhops and landscapers. Some had worked for the hotel for 40 years, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.
“Failure to rehire long-serving employees is not just a violation of the law, but a violation of trust these workers had in their employer after years of dedicated and loyal service,” California Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower commented in a statement. “This citation reflects our commitment to holding violators accountable and ensuring that workers’ rights are protected.”
The regulatory agency said it opened an investigation after alleged violations were reported by Unite Here Local 11, a union that represents hotel and restaurant workers in Southern California. The labor group led job actions and negotiations that resulted in a new labor pact in March for workers at 34 southern California hotels. The agreement called for boosting the employees’ pay by $10 an hour over a four-year stretch.
Marriott had not responded to a request for comment by the time of this posting.
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