LUMMI ISLAND, Wash. – The Willows Inn on Lummi Island will pay workers $149,624 for overtime and minimum wage violations.
The U.S. Department of Labor says the luxury inn forced entry level kitchen staff to work without pay for one month before being considered for regular employment.
The workers are known as “stages” in the industry.
Once they were on the payroll, the workers were paid a $50 daily rate, with no overtime.
The Department of Labor says The Willows Inn agreed to pay 19 workers a total of $74,812 in unpaid overtime and an equal amount in damages.
It will also give up its “stage program,” which the Department of Labor says is illegal.
The Willows Inn was recently named one of the world’s best luxury farm stays.
The Willows Inn released a statement:
We operated a stage and internship program that allowed young chefs to stage in our kitchen to gain work experience. These were passionate individuals who sought us out for the opportunity to stage at the Willows Inn. All were volunteering chefs, some were compensated in variety of ways including daily rate and lodging. Once we were informed by the Department of Labor that the practice of staging was illegal we ended the program immediately.