With summer coming soon, golf resorts and other hospitality employers are planning to hire seasonal workers. In the process, they may wish to carefully consider their obligations under various wage-and-hour, immigration, child labor, and workplace safety laws.
Quick Hits
- Golf courses and resorts tend to rely on seasonal hiring for the summer.
- Overtime pay, minimum wage, and child labor laws typically apply to part-time, seasonal workers.
- Golf resorts have legal obligations to prevent workplace safety hazards, including the risk of heat-related illness.
Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and South Carolina have abundant golf tourism and high concentrations of golf courses. During the warmer months, golf facilities often rely on seasonal hiring and a significant influx of temporary staff to work as caddies, cart attendants, pro shop clerks, groundskeepers, bartenders, and restaurant servers.
Many seasonal employees are hourly workers who may qualify for overtime pay and minimum wage under federal, state, or local laws. The minimum wage and child labor laws vary widely by state. Some states restrict the total number of hours minors can work per week, and that threshold may be different when school is not in session. Some states require permits for minors to work, and others don’t.
Employers that fail to pay minimum wage or overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) may be subject to fines, back pay, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees. Violations of child labor laws can result in fines of up to $16,000 or criminal prosecution.
Caddies, beverage cart attendants, restaurant servers, and bartenders are often tipped positions. If the employer takes a tip credit from the minimum wage in a state where a tip credit is permitted, it’s important to make sure (1) that all tips, whether paid by credit card, electronic payment, or cash, are documented sufficiently to ensure that the employee earns at least the minimum wage for each hour worked when tips are taken into account; (2) that if there is a tip pool arrangement, improper employees are not included in the tip pool; and (3) the employer does not retain any portion of the tips paid to the tipped employees.
Improperly including supervisors, managers, or employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips (e.g., people who repair or wash golf carts or stock beverages on those carts, but don’t serve them) may invalidate the tip pool, and thus the tip credit, for all affected employees.
Workers With Visas
Many employers in the hospitality and tourism industries rely on foreign workers during peak seasons. The H-2B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign citizens for temporary, seasonal, nonagricultural jobs. Employers seeking H-2B visas must establish that they have a seasonal need and that there are not enough U.S. citizens who are willing, able, and qualified to do the seasonal work.
The H-2B program is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and requires approval from both agencies. An employer must obtain an occupational classification and prevailing wage from the DOL, obtain certification on their temporary need, and then petition for approval from USCIS. To receive an H-2B visa, foreign workers must have a valid, temporary job offer, meet the requirements for the position, and if needed, obtain an H-2B visa. Workers must be paid at least the prevailing wage set by the DOL.
H-2B slots are allocated based on a lottery system, and for the last several years demand has greatly exceeded supply. If employers are interested in this option for a temporary workforce, the process should be started at least six months in advance.
Workplace Safety
The general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act requires employers to maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm. That may include hazards related to heat exposure, golf carts, lawnmowers, and chemical exposure from pesticides and fertilizers.
They can reduce risks by providing rest breaks, shade, and personal protective equipment, such as gloves, safety goggles, and steel-toed boots. They also can decrease risks by enforcing golf cart safety rules for employees and completing regular maintenance for golf carts and landscaping equipment.
Next Steps
Golf facilities hiring seasonal workers may wish to review their minimum wage and overtime pay policies and practices to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws. They may wish to coordinate with third-party payroll vendors to ensure accurate recordkeeping and proper payments.
Golf facilities may wish to promptly address any foreseeable workplace hazards and take internal reports about workplace hazards seriously. They may wish to regularly train managers and employees on heat illness prevention, safe equipment handling, safe chemical application, emergency procedures, and first aid.
This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.
