In a cautionary tale for launderers nationwide, a Florida hospitality operator, Miami-based Crown Linen LLC, recently was cited for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for employing supervisors and an assistant chief engineer at its Orlando plant as salaried staff, when an inspector determined that they were—in her view—misclassified hourly employees.

A company can never be sure that its interpretation of the law will match that of a Department of Labor (DOL) inspector, said Managing Partner Pablo Lucchesi, noting that the company has maintained the management structure for which it was cited since its founding more than 15 ...