Motel 6: $7.6 million for guests reported to immigration

PHOENIX >> The national budget chain Motel 6 has agreed to pay up to $7.6 million to Latino guests who say the company’s employees shared their private information with immigration officials, according to a proposed settlement filed in federal court.

A federal judge must still approve the proposal filed last week in U.S. District Court in Arizona.

The agreement between Motel 6, which is owned by G6 Hospitality in Carrollton, Texas, and guests represented by the Los Angeles-based Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, springs from a class-action lawsuit filed in January.

Calls seeking comment from the hospitality company’s media relations department were not immediately returned Wednesday. Motel 6 in the past has declined to comment on the lawsuit, but has said it takes its guests’ privacy seriously.

Fund president and general counsel Thomas A. Saenz said Wednesday the agreement launches a long process allowing potential class action members to have a say in the case.

Under the proposal, Motel 6 could ultimately pay up to $8.9 million, including reimbursement of legal fees and administrative costs, Saenz said.

“We’re very pleased with the settlement because it will provide for future protections and compensation,” he said.

The civil rights group alleged that Motel 6 discriminated against Latino customers at two locations in Phoenix by sharing their whereabouts and personal information with U.S. immigration agents who later arrested at least seven guests.

Motel 6 said last year that its Phoenix employees would no longer work with immigration authorities after the Phoenix New Times newspaper reported that workers were providing guests’ names to agents.

In a tweet at the time, Motel 6 said: “This was implemented at the local level without the knowledge of senior management.”