Foreign workers sue Swan and Dolphin, Westin Imagine for unpaid wages

Foreign workers are suing two major Orlando-area resorts, saying they were never paid for a month’s worth of cleaning rooms and washing laundry after their labor contractor closed during a sweeping international visa-fraud investigation.

Workers were placed at several hotels, including Walt Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin Resort and the Westin Imagine, by now-shuttered labor contractor Very Reliable Services, which is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Labor and the Brazilian government.

VR Services has failed to pay the workers’ wages, so the resorts should, say two separate suits filed against the resorts in U.S. District Court in Orlando.

Workers were promised as much as $7.50 an hour and are owed for about 160 hours of work each, according to the complaint.

Hotels increasingly use subcontractors to avoid responsibility if workers are mistreated, and they need to be held accountable, said Greg Schell, the attorney for workers in both suits.

More here.