Tolentino v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Annotate this CaseAppellant was paid by a staffing company to clean rooms at a hotel. Appellant later filed a class action suit against the staffing company and Respondents, the owner and manager of the hotel, alleging that Respondents and the staffing company were his employers and that Respondents failed to comply with the Missouri Minimum Wage Law (MMWL). The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of Respondents, concluding that there were genuine issues of material fact regarding whether Respondents were Appellant’s employer, and even if Respondents were Appellant’s employer, they could not be held responsible for the alleged wage deficiency because it was caused by the staffing company’s unforeseeable, illegal wage deductions. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that if Respondents were Appellant’s employer for purposes of MMWL, the staffing company’s illegal wage deductions did not absolve Respondents from their independent statutory duty as Appellant’s employer to pay him a minimum wage. Remanded.
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