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Omni Hotels accused of misusing PPP Covid relief funds
Omni Hotels & Resorts has been accused of misusing millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funds.
Workers union Unite Here claims the company took Paycheck Protection Program funds but failed to pay salaries to hundreds of workers.
In a letter to the Small Business Administration and the Department of the Treasury, the union is calling for scrutiny of the company’s practices relating to loans received by five Omni operated hotels.
Of these, the Omni Providence, Omni San Francisco and Omni William Penn remain closed and no union members have been paid or rehired.
Unite Here Executive Vice President Carlos Aramayo also alleged the Omni New Haven and Omni Parker House recently opened and have not rehired 80% of union workers.
The union estimates Omni received a total of $76 million in PPP loans.
"The PPP was created by the federal government to help businesses maintain employment levels during the Covid-19 pandemic. The failure of these hotels to rehire their employees has financially harmed our members and created great uncertainty for them," Aramayo wrote.
The union represents about 300,000 workers nationwide in the hotel and food service sectors.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
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TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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