2 local motels fined by state AG office
BOSTON - Three affiliated Central Massachusetts motels and their managers were ordered to pay more than $65,000 in restitution and penalties for labor violations, including the failure to pay wages and earned sick time in a timely manner, the Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.
The motels - Worcester City Motel in Shrewsbury, Red Roof Inn in Sutton and Red Roof Inn in Woburn, as well as managers Ketan H. Patel, Charles P. Minasian, and Robert Parsekian - were issued three citations for the pay issues. They were cited for failing to maintain "true and accurate payroll and timekeeping records."
The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division began looking into the matter after receiving a complaint alleging that employees were not being paid for their total hours worked, getting little rest of break time after working long hours, and an unpredictable pay schedule.
Patel, Minasian, and Parsekian, who founded the Lexington-based property investment firm Azad Legacy Partners LLC in 2016, could not be reached for comment.
Azad Legacy Partners LLC mainly focuses on office, laboratory, flex, retail and industrial properties in the Boston area, but purchased the Worcester City Motel for nearly $2.3 million from Vihar Inc., a company led by President Pramod B. Thaker of Shrewsbury in 2019.
The motel has been undergoing extensive renovations since 2021 and is due to receive a new name in an effort to distance itself from the less-than-stellar reputation it gained over the years.
The investigation determined that the company owed "just under $35,000 in wages to one worker," and that the sick leave policy was not incompliance with state law, the Attorney General's office said.
The motel's sick leave policy "provided unpaid leave and was unavailable for the first year of employment," the release said. "Under Massachusetts’ Earned Sick Time Law, employers must provide paid sick leave if they employ 11 or more employees, and employees must be permitted to take job-protected sick leave after 90 days of employment."
It was determined that 36 employees in total were impacted by this violation, at both the Worcester City Motel and both Red Roof Inn locations.
"As a result of this settlement, the workers who were harmed by this company’s unlawful actions will get the money they earned," said Acting Attorney General Bessie Dewar in a press release.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 2 local motels fined by state AG office
