The owners of the Hilton Garden Inn, Valencia Six Flags have agreed to pay more than $110,000 in back wages and fines for violating Los Angeles County's minimum wage ordinance, officials said.
The agreement comes after an investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs' Wage Enforcement Program revealed that the hotel had underpaid 40 employees for a six-month period in 2016, the county agency announced Friday.
The hotel owners agreed to pay $50,000 of the total fines directly to the employees, the officials said.
"The Department of Consumer and Business Affairs is committed to the principle that every worker must be paid fairly and promptly as required by law," said Joseph M. Nicchitta, director of the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. "Underpayments of any amount can compound the financial difficulties minimum wage earners experience daily. There is no excuse for failing to pay your employees the correct wage."
Attempts to reach Hilton management were not immediately successful.
The minimum wage in unincorporated Los Angeles County is $14.25 an hour for businesses with 26 or more employees, and $13.25 for businesses with 25 or fewer employees.
