Marriott Hotel Convicted of Fraud for Illegally Withholding $9 Million in Employee Tips

Marriott Hotel in San Francisco was found guilty of illegally withholding almost $9 billion in tips by federal court judge.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a judge ruled against the San Francisco Marriott, which was accused of keeping almost $9 billion in tips from its employees. The incident occurred over nearly five years, from 2012 to 2017. Allegedly, when the hotel hosted events like weddings, a large tip was collected by an employee to be distributed to the workers, but the tips were never received by the employees.

“Customers pay service charges — on top of hefty food and beverage bills — because they think they are tips for the waitstaff,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, attorney for the workers said.

Marriott spokesperson remains silent and a potential appeal is underway.

According to the hotel’s statement, the issue was merely a miscommunication on how employee tips were supposed to be distributed. However, numerous event planners testified in favor of the workers, indicating that the majority of banquet attendees and hosts believed that the gratuity was already incorporated into the overall cost. Although this is the case, the hotel may still choose to challenge the verdict.