Monthly Archives: October 2011

by | October 9, 2011 · 7:36 am

Hospitality Industry Pool Safety Risks: Nevada Hotel Guests Hospitalized After Suffering "Chlorine Burns" In Jacuzzi Spa Caused By Possible Malfunction Of Chlorine System

“…The Clark County Fire Department says two hotel guest at the Hooters Casino Hotel were taken to the hospital for second degree burns…it called the Southern Nevada Health District, which shut down the pool pending an investigation…”

When Knox called an ambulance, paramedics told him his son’s friend had second-degree burns on 91 percent of his body and he was almost going into shock…”

Andrew Miller has burns on his legs and feet. He is also friends with the two victims that were sent to the hospital. “It seemed like we were fine but as we started walking back up to the room we all started noticing we were kind of itchy,” Miller said. Miller and his friends called Kevin Knox, a father of one of the group who made the room reservations. Knox tells FOX5 when he arrived things were pretty bad.

“Went up to see him and he was in his bed and he was shaking he was so cold, and he just from his neck down to his feet he was completely red and on his back it was actually bubbling,” Knox said.

“That’s when they said we got to take him to the emergency and we’re taking her too because she couldn’t even walk; her legs were just red,” Knox said.

But Knox heard a rumor of what happened. “They do have a chlorine system that goes every 15 minutes or so that puts out a little bit of chlorine, but at six o’clock in the morning when these kids were in it, it dumped all of it,” Knox told FOX5.

Clark County Fire believes the burns were caused by chlorine exposure, but it is still trying to confirm if the accident was caused by a malfunction or human error. Knox believes his son’s friends weren’t the only victims.

“The security explained to the fire department that (they) had several complaints of people getting burned so it’s not just these two or these four,” said Knox.

For more:  http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/15650310/two-hooters-casino-guests-hospitalized-after-hot-tub-chlorine-burns

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Pool Safety Risks: Nevada Hotel Guests Hospitalized After Suffering "Chlorine Burns" In Jacuzzi Spa Caused By Possible Malfunction Of Chlorine System

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 8, 2011 · 6:12 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety Risks: Complaints Filed With OSHA And EEOC Against Colorado Hotel For Firing Housekeeper After She "Complaied About Unsanitary Conditions"

“…A Denver woman says she was fired by Springhill Suites DIA because she complained about the unsanitary conditions at the hotel.“When I asked management to provide housekeepers on my cleaning crew with plastic gloves, I was told the gloves were too expensive,” said Dorothy Barrett-Wilson. “We were cleaning bathroom toilets and floors without gloves, something you don’t even do at home.”

The EEOC will investigate the charges of discrimination filed by Wilson, who says the hotel fired her when she made the complaint to OSHA.

Barrett-Wilson filed complaints with the Colorado Civil Rights Division and OSHA. The complaints also say the crew, which was mainly Hispanic and African, had no radio communication in case of emergencies on the floors.

Wilson also says the housekeepers were also being asked to clean 21 rooms a shift, when the norm is about 12 or 14. She also says workers had to handle dirty towels and linen, some of which had blood on them, with their bare hands.

For more:  http://www.kwgn.com/news/kdvr-feds-investigate-springhill-suites-dia-20111007,0,893504.story

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Safety Risks: Complaints Filed With OSHA And EEOC Against Colorado Hotel For Firing Housekeeper After She "Complaied About Unsanitary Conditions"

Filed under Health, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | October 7, 2011 · 3:10 pm

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: California Supreme Court To Determine Whether "Non-Exempt Employees Are Entitled To Uninterrupted, Off-Duty Meal Periods Of 30 Minutes For Every Five Hours Worked"

“…At issue in the case is whether California employers must ensure that their employees actually take their meal and rest periods or merely make them available. Guidance is also anticipated regarding the time in the workday in which meal and rest periods must be taken and whether or not legally-compliant meal and rest period policies can protect an employer against class actions even when these policies are unevenly enforced…”

The California Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Brinker Restaurant v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum, et al., real parties in interest) on November 8, 2011, according to the Court docket issued this week. The Court generally issues decisions within 90 days after completion of oral argument and submission of post-argument briefs, if any. A decision is expected by mid-February, 2012.

The decision is extremely important to California employers because meal and rest period claims have been the basis of hundreds of class action lawsuits in California. The Court’s decision could make it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring these claims as class actions, or, depending on the ruling, could establish rigid guidelines which may foster more class actions. Either way, California employers and plaintiffs class action lawyers alike have eagerly awaited this decision since the Supreme Court took up the case in October 2008 and look forward to receiving guidance from the high court.

Under California law, nonexempt employees are entitled to uninterrupted, off-duty meal periods of at least 30 minutes for every five hours worked. While there are certain limited exceptions to this rule (such as a revocable written waiver of the meal period in limited circumstances), employers are required to compensate employees for on-duty meal periods. In addition, California law assesses employers a penalty equal to one hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate for every day there is a meal period violation.

For more:  http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2011/10/labor_brinker_case.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: California Supreme Court To Determine Whether "Non-Exempt Employees Are Entitled To Uninterrupted, Off-Duty Meal Periods Of 30 Minutes For Every Five Hours Worked"

Filed under Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 6, 2011 · 5:31 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Maryland Health Officials Find "Legionella Bacteria" In Hotel Water Samples After Guests Hospitalized With Legionnaire's Disease

“…Preliminary results from hotel water samples indicate the presence of the Legionella bacteria, but final results won’t be available until the end of next week, according to DHMH…”

People with a history of smoking, those over the age of 50 and those with lung disease or weakened immune systems are at greater risk of contracting the disease, also known as legionellosis.

Guests at an Ocean City hotel have been voluntarily relocated after three people who stayed there were hospitalized with Legionnaire’s disease, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The three people developed the form of pneumonia about a week after their stay at the Plim Plaza Hotel, although investigators are still working to determine whether they contracted it there, according to the health department.

The 181-room hotel closed three days before the end of the season in order to test the water system and address any issues, said Betsy FauntLeRoy, director of marketing for the Harrison Group, which owns the Plim Plaza and nine other hotels.

For more:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-legionella-20111005,0,5437026.story

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Maryland Health Officials Find "Legionella Bacteria" In Hotel Water Samples After Guests Hospitalized With Legionnaire's Disease

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

Tagged as , , ,

by | October 5, 2011 · 12:36 pm

Hospitality Industry Employment Liability Risks: "Employment Practices Liability Insurance" Does Not Cover Lawsuit Brought By EEOC According To A Federal Court; Insurance "Claims" Limited To Suits Brought By "Employees"

“…A federal court in Tennessee recently ruled that an employer’s employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) did not cover a $2.7 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by the EEOC… because the policy limited “claims” to proceedings brought by employees, and the EEOC was not Cracker Barrel’s employee…”

 The specific language in the policy defined a “claim” as “a civil, administrative or arbitration proceeding commenced by the service of a complaint or charge, which is brought by any past, present or prospective ‘employee(s)’ of the ‘insured entity’ against any ‘insured.’”

After 10 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store employees filed charges of race and/or sex discrimination with the EEOC, the EEOC sued Cracker Barrel under Title VII. Cracker Barrel eventually settled the underlying EEOC lawsuit, entering into a consent decree obligating it to place $2 million into a settlement fund. In addition, Cracker Barrel incurred more than $700,000 in defense costs.    

Although Cracker Barrel gave proper written notice of the EEOC lawsuit to its carrier, the Court ruled that Cracker Barrel was not entitled to recover any of the $2.7 million under its EPLI policy. The Court held that the language in the EPLI policy did not extend to the EEOC lawsuit because the policy limited “claims” to proceedings brought by employees, and the EEOC was not Cracker Barrel’s employee.

For more:  http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=21384c3f-95d2-424d-a68c-ecd547ebe694

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employment Liability Risks: "Employment Practices Liability Insurance" Does Not Cover Lawsuit Brought By EEOC According To A Federal Court; Insurance "Claims" Limited To Suits Brought By "Employees"

Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | October 4, 2011 · 5:44 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Colorado Hotel Owners Sued By U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) For Firing White Workers In Favor Of Hispanic Workers

“…one of the fired employees was told she was being terminated because the hotel owners preferred non-American and non-Caucasian workers ‘because it was their impression that such workers are lazy’..”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is seeking back pay for employees that federal officials said were fired from a Hampton Inn franchise in Craig, Colo., according to the lawsuit filed last week.

Former employees at a western Colorado hotel said they were fired and replaced with Latino workers because the business owners thought white and non-Hispanic workers were lazy, according to a federal lawsuit announced Monday.

The lawsuit claims the general manager of the hotel was told by the business owners “to hire more qualified maids, and that they preferred maids to be Hispanic because in their opinion Hispanics worked harder.”

For more:  http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q51LLO1.htm

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Colorado Hotel Owners Sued By U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) For Firing White Workers In Favor Of Hispanic Workers

Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Insurance, Labor Issues, Legislation, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 3, 2011 · 11:40 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Two Workers Die Of Hydrogen Sulfide Gas Poisoning While Working On A Pump Storage Tank At A Maine Hotel

“…Autopsies of two workers who collapsed and died while repairing a submersible pump in a pump storage tank at a Kennebunkport, Maine, hotel on Sept. 27 reveals they were exposed to high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas… It is suspected that the men did not test the atmosphere before they entered the tank..”

 “…Hydrogen sulfide is given off by bacteria present in sewage and exposure quickly can lead to unconsciousness and death…”

The storage tank where the men were working is 9 feet below ground and approximately 4 feet high by 6 feet long by 5 feet wide. Neither man was wearing a respirator when the bodies were found.

Studley and Kemp were working near an employee of Nest and Sons, who was pumping out the underground tank. He left with a load of sewage and when he returned, the men were gone, even though their truck still was in the parking lot. At that point, a hotel employee reporting them missing and when pumping was resumed in the tank, one of the bodies surfaced. The tank was searched and the second body was found.

For more:  http://ehstoday.com/safety/confined_space_workers_killed_1003/

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Two Workers Die Of Hydrogen Sulfide Gas Poisoning While Working On A Pump Storage Tank At A Maine Hotel

Filed under Health, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 1, 2011 · 5:33 pm

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Nevada Hotel Sued By Federal Government For "Racial Harassment"

“…Federal officials say hotel managers were first told in 2006 that several Hispanic room attendants had been subject to the comments referencing their ethnicity and skin color. The comments came from coworkers and supervisors. Some of the comments were profane…and derogatory names such as “taco bell” and “bean burrito.”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Friday that it had filed a lawsuit against the Pioneer Hotel in Laughlin, Nev. for ignoring the alleged harassment.

The hotel allegedly didn’t take action to prevent or correct the harassment in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act. Federal officials say some Nevada casinos seem to be retaliating against employees who complain about hostile work environment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/feds-sue-nevada-hotel-for-not-protecting-hispanic-employees-from-harassment/2011/09/30/gIQA5ZYABL_story.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Nevada Hotel Sued By Federal Government For "Racial Harassment"

Filed under Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , ,