In the first six months that Flagstaff’s Office of Labor Standards has been tasked with enforcing the city’s minimum wage, the office received over a dozen complaints. Investigations are now pending in a handful of them.
Seventeen complaints were filed and five are currently under investigation. While the employers have not been named publicly, investigators report two hotels that violated the law have been required to pay back wages and damages.
In both cases, the businesses said they were unaware Flagstaff has a higher minimum wage than the rest of the state, and continued to pay minimum wage to workers of $10 per hour instead of the increased $10.50.
A total of four complaints have been filed against hotels and another three against restaurants in Flagstaff. A third violation was found at a local haunted house which failed to pay temporary workers, advertising that proceeds from the attraction would be donated to charity. Owners of the haunted house have also been ordered to pay penalties and damages.