Woman fired, evicted after raising concerns about fair labor practices in relation to her hotel employer, who required a 35-hour workweek and offered no pay in exchange for renting her a room for two years: "It's almost indentured servitude"

Judy Wirth has a newspaper spread out on her bed. She's scanning the employment classifieds in search for a new job after she says she was fired from one that never paid her.

Instead of pay, she was given a motel room. It looks like one that could be rented for a short stay, but it's been personalized with her own belongings since she moved in more than two years ago.

There are two beds: one for Wirth and the other for her 17-year-old daughter. There's no kitchen, just a corner of the room with a small refrigerator, a microwave and a slow cooker. The bathroom sink and a makeshift closet are visible from the front door, and there are stacks of storage bins against her window. Her black cat, Precious, is curled up in one of the three chairs tightly arranged in her room.

Wirth has lived in this room at Arbor Inn, at 15435 W. Michigan Ave. in Marshall Township, in exchange for working as a housekeeper there since August 2012. She's now being evicted after she said she was fired in late October for raising concerns about the motel's payment practices.


Judy Wirth, who has lived and worked at the Arbor Inn in Marshall, is being evicted. John Grap/The Enquirer

Wirth said she's seen other employees treated the same, and said at least seven workers receive a room as payment for their work. To her, it's a policy that allows the motel owner to take advantage of the vulnerable who have no other options. Many, including herself, receive food stamps to get by and have nowhere else to go, Wirth said.

"For two years, I've seen people get kicked out and had to go, crying," she said. "Cops come. I don't know how (the owner) does it."

And to Wirth's attorney, Raymond Davis, it's a policy that violates federal and state wage laws. They have filed complaints with both state and federal departments of Labor and with the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Anila Rana, owner of the Arbor Inn, said in a brief phone conversation with the Enquirer Wednesday morning that Wirth had quit. Through her attorney, Rana has denied the allegations.

"The management of Arbor Inn has been made aware of a variety of unsubstantiated and baseless claims being made by a person who is presently being evicted because of her failure to pay rent," Rana's attorney, Chris Vreeland, said in a statement Wednesday.

"We do not intend to try this case in the newspaper and look forward to any aggrieved party actually coming to court. Arbor Inn management categorically denies any wrongdoing and looks forward to the opportunity to obtain redress via the court system."

Davis is representing Wirth free of charge — their children are friends, he acknowledged — and argued that under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer can only take credit for lodging at its own cost and must pass two legal requirements: it cannot be substandard housing and it has to be for the employee's benefit.

But employees are required to live at the motel, are always on call and are required to dress appropriately in case services are needed, Davis said. He said "it's very clear" the arrangement benefits the employer.

"They haven't paid any payroll taxes," he said. "So Judy's worked for two years and gained no credit for her Social Security because they haven't issued a W-2. They haven't done, really, what's required under federal law in order to properly document these wages."

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