A Costa Rican travel agency has been accused of paying workers more than $300,000 for travel, including hotel rooms, to other countries in violation of labor laws, according to the Costa Rican government.
The Costa Rican Labor Agency (CAZA) announced Monday that it has accused Costa Rica Travel Agency of paying employees $5,936 for lodging, transportation and other expenses.CAZA’s president and CEO, Antonio Rios, said in a statement that the agency will “not hesitate to take appropriate actions to ensure that all the necessary investigations are completed in a fair and impartial manner.”
Rios added that Costa Rica will cooperate with the CAZA’s investigation.
The CAZA alleges that Costa Rican Travel Agency has paid its staff less than the minimum wage, according a statement issued by the agency.
The statement said the agency was paid by a “third party company” in violation the Costa Rica Labor Code.
Costa Rica is the sixth most expensive country in the world for the cost of living, according in a report by the Costa Ricans Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The agency’s employees include nurses, hoteliers, bartenders, carpenters, landscapers, and others.
Costa Rican Tourism Authority has been operating for five years and is based in Costa Rican capital, San Jose, the Costa Times reported.
