Author Archives: Ida

by | April 12, 2010 · 1:23 pm

Hospitality Industry Food Safety: New “HACCP Food Safety Employee Manual” From Food Safety Expert Tara Paster Focuses On Food Safety And Preparation

(From a PRWeb.com article)  Deadly outbreaks of foodborne illnesses over the past few years have focused increased attention on food safety and preparation. The Obama Administration has announced new steps to upgrade the US food safety system, with a public health-focused approach based on prevention, strengthened surveillance and enforcement, and improved response and recovery. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration recently released its updated Food Code, a model code and reference manual for the state and local agencies that regulate more than one million restaurants, retail food stores and vending and food service operations.
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These recent changes are the focus of food safety expert and Pearson author Tara Paster’s new training guide for the food service industry, The HACCP Food Safety Employee Manual, 2nd Ed. The book debuted today at the 12th Annual Food Safety Summit in Washington, D.C., the largest and most established trade show focusing on food safety, quality assurance and food security.

Designed for workers in casinos, restaurants, schools, the military and retail outlets, The HACCP Food Safety Employee Manual is a user-friendly guide to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) training processes to prevent foodborne illness in retail food service. The second edition incorporates the new FDA Food Code guidelines to assist the industry in prioritizing their food safety interventions and inspections. Participants receive a Basic HACCP Certification upon completing the course.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/04/prweb3858584.htm

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by | April 9, 2010 · 6:48 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance: Employment Practices Liability Insurance Protects Employers From “Workplace Bullying” Claims

Employers are turning to ’employment practices liability’ insurance to protect against bullying-type claims (harassment, wrongful termination, etc.) for which companies pay $5,000 to $100,000 in annual premiums with deductibles of $10,000 to $25,000. The median compensation in wrongful termination cases topped $200,000 in 1995, up 45% from the year before.

Workplace bullying includes all types of interpersonal harassment and psychological violence. Few are blatantly illegal; most are not. It crosses all organizational levels, from the top down and from the bottom up. Unchallenged bullying poisons the workplace, undermines productivity, and contributes to a skyrocketing exposure to risk.

The anguish of bullied employees forces them to pay with their health–both psychological and physical–that affects them, their co-workers and their families. It undermines a loyal employee’s commitment to the organization, while eroding personal well-being.

Relationships among employees, and between management and staff, are strained more than ever because of time and productivity pressures. Pressure, to some, justifies the mistreatment of others. When mistreatment goes unchallenged, even passive individuals are capable of explosive rage that can result in headline episodes of workplace violence.

http://www.workplacebullying.org/employers.html

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by | April 8, 2010 · 6:33 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Issues: There Is No Clear Legal Guidance For Hotel And Restaurant Operators If They Suspect A Guest Or Patron Is Likely To Commit Illegal Acts

“A proprietor of an inn, tavern, restaurant, or like business is liable for an assault upon a guest or patron by another guest or third party where the proprietor has reason to anticipate such an assault and fails to exercise reasonable care to forestall or prevent the same.”

(From a Volokh.com posted article)   “The duty of a proprietor of a tavern or inn to protect his patrons from injury does not arise until the impending danger becomes apparent to him, or the circumstances are such that a careful and prudent person would be put on notice of the potential danger.” 

Other jurisdictions have applied the landowner-invitee analysis to determine whether a university has a duty to protect students from the criminal actions of third parties. In analyzing the issue, [most of the courts] relied upon Restatement (Second) of Torts § 344 (1964), which provides:

“A possessor of land who holds it open to the public for entry for his business purposes is subject to liability to members of the public while they are upon the land for such a purpose, for physical harm caused by the accidental, negligent, or intentionally harmful acts of third persons or animals, and by the failure of the possessor to exercise reasonable care to 

“(a) discover that such acts are being done or are likely to be done, or

“(b) give a warning adequate to enable the visitors to avoid the harm, or otherwise to protect them against it.”

The general rule is that a landowner has no duty to protect an invitee on the landowner’s premises from a third party’s criminal attack unless the attack is reasonably foreseeable. Prior similar acts committed upon invitees furnish actual or constructive notice to a landowner. A university owes student tenants the same duty to exercise due care for their protection as a private landowner owes its tenants.

http://volokh.com/2010/04/06/what-should-landlords-do-if-a-tenant-is-accused-of-a-violent-crime/

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by | April 7, 2010 · 6:37 am

Hotel Cybercrime: Debit Cards Do Not Offer Same Protections As Credit Cards If Account Information Is Stolen

Jacque Tiegs of Clair Shores, Mich., had a similar experience a few years ago. She used her debit card at a hotel in Milwaukee for incidental charges and found out on her next month’s bank statement that someone had run up a $3,500 bill at another hotel of the same brand in Chicago. Her bank couldn’t (or wouldn’t) solve the problem, and the hotel claimed she had run up the charges. Only by threatening to go to the police and offering proof that she had been out of town on a work assignment was she able to get the charges reversed.

(From a WalletPop.com article)   Don’t think that the same protections you get from your credit card apply to your debit card. If someone steals your credit card number and runs up a big bill, you won’t be responsible for the fraudulent charges — at least not until the card company completes its investigation and probably not at all if they find evidence of fraud. But if someone steals your debit card information and starts charging away, you’re on the hook. The money comes straight out of your bank account. Not only are they your funds — with no one there to cover for you — but getting the money back can be a huge hassle that can easily take a month, if not more, to resolve.

Even if your money is only locked up temporarily, as Greg Meyer’s was, it can still be devastating, especially if you don’t have a large balance to tide you over. Not only that, but if the hold is greater than your balance, it can trip an overdraft protection and subsequent transactions can be denied or add to your overdraft woes.

So how do you protect yourself – and your debit card? “Be alert when there’s an opportunity for so-called ‘skimming’ or where people can look over your shoulder to track your PIN number,” says Tim Lukens, a senior vice president at Affinion Security Center, a company that makes anti-cybercrime software for big banks. Also, think twice before using your debit card at a restaurant, where you don’t actually see the server swiping it, or at gas stations, where surveillance cameras can record you keying in your PIN.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/03/31/debit-card-disasters-what-to-do-when-you-get-burned/

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by | April 6, 2010 · 10:12 am

Hotel Industry Sexual Harassment: Smaller Hotel Operators Have Minimal “Workplace Hostility” Procedures In Place And Managers Are Often “Friends” Of Senior Management

The situation was difficult to report internally, as the hotel had no clear-cut method of filing such a form of workplace hostility, according to Tsamis. Calls by Windy City Times to the human resources department at the hotel were not returned.

The matter grew more complicated because the manager is friends with the son of the general manager and the human resources manager, according to Kosman.

“Because there was not a policy of reporting in place, I wrote a letter to Bricton Group,” Tsamis said.

(From a WindyCityMediaGroup.com article)   When Hernan Cortes began working for Holiday Inn in 2006, he was pleased with the job.

“It was an excellent work environment,” said Cortes.

Things changed radically in August 2009, when, according to Cortes, his new male supervising manager began sexually harassing him and, ironically, discriminating against him due to his sexual orientation.

Sexual harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation, two forms of workplace hostility, have intersected in a case involving employees of a Holiday Inn franchise in Elmhurst, Ill. The hotel is run by The Bricton Group, which is based in Park Ridge, Ill.

Two employees of the hotel have sought legal advice due to the alleged incidents.

Dan Kosman, the second employee seeking legal assistance, began working for the hotel in June 2009. Around August, his supervising manager—the same manager who also supervised over Cortes—allegedly began sexual harassing him as well.

“I’d walk by and he’d pinch my butt,” Kosman said. “I’d be by the filing cabinet, bending over, and he’d come over and bump me purposely.

Kosman added that the manager also committed more lewd actions, such as exposing his penis to him. Cortes reportedly faced similar harassment.

Discrimination based on sexual orientation also came into play, when other employees were present, said Kosman and Cortes.

“He called me ‘F squared,’ which mean ‘f’ing faggot,'” Cortes said.

“As the harassment went on, he was obviously a closeted gay,” Kosman said. “When there were other people around, he was definitely throwing [ homophobic words ] around to whomever he was talking to. I would be somewhere on the sidelines … and he’d say, ‘Oh, that guy’s a fag.'”

Kosman sought the advice of Lambda Legal, an organization that offers legal assistance to the LGBT community, in December. Lambda referred Kosman to his current lawyer, Betty Tsamis.

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=25872

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by | April 5, 2010 · 4:18 am

Restaurant Food Safety: Food Safety Certification Training That Will Benefit Kitchen And Wait Staff (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-P7K0Bg_eo]

Food safety certification training is something that must be done by everyone in your kitchen staff and wait staff. Make sure you get your employees properly trained with guidance from a restaurant owner in this free video on the restaurant business.

Expert: Ernie Paquette
Contact: www.restaurantzola.com
Bio: Ernie Paquette is the owner of Zola Restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, nationally-known chef Debra Paquette.
Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge

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by | April 3, 2010 · 6:42 am

Employment Practices Insurance: Wage And Hour Lawsuits Threaten 80% Of Employers Who Are Not In Compliance With Wage-And-Hour Laws

Now outranking discrimination lawsuits, measured by both number of filings and size of settlements, employment practices lawsuits have become an unforeseen calamity for companies across all industry sectors, the firm said.

Typically, wage-and-hour suits involve allegations that employers have failed to pay wages for time worked, or failed to pay at rates required by law.

According to Advisen, the Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that 80 percent of employers are not in compliance with applicable wage-and-hour laws.

(From a Property-Casualty.com article)  Insurers have been slow to respond with coverage for wage-and-hour lawsuits that have been an escalating threat to companies of all sizes over the past decade, Advisen Ltd. said in a new study.

The 21-page report, “The Threat of Wage-and-Hour Lawsuits,” examines the drivers of these suits and explores recent developments in wage-and-hour litigation. Additionally, it includes a survey of insurers that provide possible coverage.

Typically, wage-and-hour suits involve allegations that employers have failed to pay wages for time worked, or failed to pay at rates required by law.

According to Advisen, the Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that 80 percent of employers are not in compliance with applicable wage-and-hour laws.

Now outranking discrimination lawsuits, measured by both number of filings and size of settlements, employment practices lawsuits have become an unforeseen calamity for companies across all industry sectors, the firm said.

Alterations made to the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by the DOL in 2004 were originally intended to clarify definitions to make it easier for companies to comply. Instead, it brought focus to the issue and sparked awareness among the plaintiff’s bar, according to the report.

Advisen noted that the DOL and certain state labor departments have stepped up enforcement efforts in recent years, and the DOL has ramped up its Wage-and-Hour Division under the Obama administration.

http://www.property-casualty.com/News/2010/3/Pages/Wage–Hour-Suits-A-Growing-Uninsured-Risk-Advisen-Finds.aspx

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by | April 2, 2010 · 6:48 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: New National Health Law Will Mandate Health Insurance On Hotel And Restaurant Operators With More Than 50 Employees, While Massachussetts Requires Coverage For Businesses With 11 Or More Workers

Don Day is also worried. Day owns eight small businesses in McKinney, Texas, including two restaurants, a boutique hotel and several retail shops.

Although he employs 125 workers, he offers health care for just a few key employees. Just an extra $200 a month per employee for health care could set him back hundreds of thousands of dollars a year — a cost he can’t afford.

“It’s not just me, it’s every small business across this land,” he said. “A lot of small businesses are going to go out of business.”

(From an Associated Press article)   As business owners across the country weigh the new law, they’re looking to Massachusetts for harbingers of things to come.

Massachusetts’ law, which mandates near-universal coverage and requires that businesses with 11 or more workers offer insurance, provided the blueprint for the health law signed by President Barack Obama. Massachusetts employers who don’t comply face annual fines of $295 per worker.

While there’s been plenty of grumbling among business owners that the state law has squeezed them financially during a tough recession, there’s little evidence the law is forcing employers to close or sending them fleeing for the border. Other businesses have welcomed the law and business leaders helped guarantee its passage.

Drawing parallels between the state and national laws is tricky. While both share many of the same tenets — requiring businesses to shoulder more of the burden of health coverage — there are major differences.

The national law doesn’t require businesses offer insurance but hits employers with 50 or more workers with an annual $2,000-per-employee fee if the company doesn’t insure them and the government ends up subsidizing their workers’ coverage.

The national law also grants tax credits for businesses with 25 or fewer workers with average annual wages below $50,000, which Democrats say that will benefit 3.6 million business nationwide. And beginning in 2014, businesses with up to 100 employees will be able to pool their employees in state-created insurance exchanges to increase their negotiating clout with insurance companies — a move supporters say could aid 29 million businesses.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g0ZR7xK3OfnUMkC7pOMMHB6Kl38gD9EPFRI80

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by | April 1, 2010 · 6:10 am

Restaurant Food Safety: The Top 10 Foods That Carry Salmonella Infection-Causing Bacteria Include Leafy Greens, Eggs, Tuna, Oysters And Potatoes

LEAFY GREENS: 363 outbreaks involving 13,568 reported cases of illness

EGGS: 352 outbreaks involving 11,163 reported cases of illness

TUNA: 268 outbreaks involving 2341 reported cases of illness

OYSTERS: 132 outbreaks involving 3409 reported cases of illness

POTATOES: 108 outbreaks involving 3659 reported cases of illness

CHEESE: 83 outbreaks involving 2761 reported cases of illness

ICE CREAM: 74 outbreaks involving 2594 reported cases of illness

TOMATOES: 31 outbreaks involving 3292 reported cases of illness

SPROUTS: 31 outbreaks involving 2022 reported cases of illness

BERRIES: 25 outbreaks involving 3397 reported cases of illness

 

Illnesses caused by these ten foods may be as minor as stomachcramps and diarrhea for a day or two, or as serious as kidney failure or death. Notably, pathogens most commonly associated with meat and poultry—such as been repeatedly linked to these food items.

In fact, Salmonella2 and E. coli O157:H73—also have Salmonella was identified as the cause in 33 percent of the outbreaks from the FDA Top Ten. Other pathogens causing the outbreaks associated with these foods include and Campylobacter, Scombrotoxin, Norovirus,Vibrio.4

http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/cspi_top_10_fda.pdf

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by | March 31, 2010 · 6:03 am

Hospitality Industry Cybercrime: The 10 Riskiest Cities For Cybercrime Include Major Hotel Destinations Such As #1 Seattle, San Francisco And Boston

The 10 Riskiest Cities for Cyber-Crime identified in the The Norton Top 10 Riskiest Online Cities report make up a laundry list of the most famous places in the country.

The top 10 listed are:

  1. Seattle
  2. Boston
  3. Washington, D.C.
  4. San Francisco
  5. Raleigh, N.C.
  6. Atlanta
  7. Minneapolis
  8. Denver
  9. Austin, Texas
  10. Portland, Ore.

(From a GovTech.com article)   Other notable cities in the remaining 40 include Honolulu (11), Las Vegas (13), San Diego (14), New York (24), Los Angeles (30), Houston (32), Phoenix (34) and Chicago (35). Rankings were determined from Symantec data on cyber-crime, third-party data on online behavior and demographic data from Sperling.

These cities have been ranked based on the numbers of malicious attacks received; potential malware infections; spam zombies; bot-infected machines; and places that offer free Wi-Fi, per capita. They were also ranked based on the prevalence of Internet use; computer use, based on consumer expenditures for hardware and software; and risky online activity, like purchasing via the Internet, e-mail and accessing financial information.

Seattle ranked in the top 10 of all categories, which is how it wound up as No.1 riskiest city in the survey.

“When you look at the data, they are way ahead on all these measures, so you’ve got a concentration of heavy usage of technology engaging in the kinds of activities that we know increase your risk of being a victim of cyber-crime,” said Marian Merritt, Norton Internet Safety Advocate.

http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/750409

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