Category Archives: Labor Issues

by | May 26, 2011 · 9:21 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety Risks: Hotel Housekeepers And Staff May Wear "Electronic Panic Buttons" To Protect Against Assault If New York Legislation Is Passed

“New York hotel workers would have electronic “panic buttons” under a new bill proposed after then-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid…”

“…Hotel workers needing urgent help could use the panic buttons to contact the hotel’s front desk or its security, then police could be called if necessary…”

“…assaults may be undercounted, experts say, since workers may fear being sacked and employers, mindful of insurance, might not want to report assaults that are not severe….”

 Assemblyman Lancman, who chairs the Assembly’s subcommittee on workplace safety, said attacks on hotel maids and housekeepers were relatively common although he had no data to support that.

In 2009, 100 hotel maids were assaulted—70 by people, 30 by animals—according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But assaults may be undercounted, experts say, since workers may fear being sacked and employers, mindful of insurance, might not want to report assaults that are not severe. 

Hotel companies are examining security protocols following the incident, industry executives said on Tuesday.

 For more:  http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20110525/NEWS01/110529923

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by | May 21, 2011 · 7:51 am

Hotel Industry Employee Security Risks: Arrest Of IMF Executive For Sexual Assault On Housekeeper Highlights Potential Dangers As Security Personnel Layoffs Leave Staff Vulnerable

“…Hotel housekeepers say they often feel a twinge of fear when they slide the key card, turn the door handle and step into a room to clean it. What will they find?…”

“…Many more (incidents) are hushed up, labor groups say, because the victims are illegal immigrants or because hotels are wary of scaring off guests. Many hotels laid off security staff during the recession, leaving workers even more vulnerable…”

For Argelia Rico, it was a naked man who touched himself as he ogled her. For Kimberly Phillips, it was a pair of dogs that tore into her leg.

Last week the former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was charged with chasing a housekeeper around his $3,000-a-night penthouse suite and forcing her to perform oral sex on him at the Sofitel hotel in New York.

Labor groups and hotel housekeepers have reported at least 10 other such incidents in the United States in recent years, from Gaithersburg to remote Grand Island, Neb.

“It’s dangerous work,” said Yazmin Vazquez, who works at a hotel in downtown Chicago. “These customers think they can use us for anything they want, because we don’t have the power that they have or the money that they have.”

For more:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-wake-of-strauss-kahn-arrest-hotel-housekeepers-say-jobs-often-make-them-wary/2011/05/21/AFIe6j8G_story.html

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by | May 11, 2011 · 2:24 pm

Hospitality Industry Employee Issues: California Legislature Considers Legislation To Require "Fitted Bed Sheets" To Reduce Housekeeping Injuries But Costs To Hotels Would Be Significant

“…Supporters of the bill argue it will reduce worker injuries by eliminating the need for workers to repetitively lift extremely heavy mattresses when making beds…”

“… They contend that flat sheets cause workers to strain their backs, shoulders and wrists, and are often responsible for repetitive motion injuries…” 

“..But the California Hotel and Lodging Association says replacing existing sheets to comply with the bill could cost between $30 million and $50 million…”

“…Hotel operators argue they will need to purchase new equipment in order to launder the fitted sheets. They also say fitted sheets will have to be replaced more often, that the elastic in fitted sheets breaks down faster than fabric, and that fitted sheets cost more to iron, fold and store…”

The California Legislature is considering a bill that would regulate what type of sheets can be used on hotel bed mattresses across the state. State Bill 432, sponsored by Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), also calls for the use of long-handled tools like mops and dusters so housekeepers do not have to get down on their hands and knees to clean bathroom floors.

“Just by using fitted sheets you could cut the number of lifts in half, and we think that would go a long way in preventing worker injury,” said Leigh Shelton, a spokesperson for UNITE HERE, a union that represents California hospitality workers.

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by | May 2, 2011 · 4:05 pm

Hospitality Industry Workers' Comp Issues: State Of Illinois Seriously Reviews Employee Awards, Employer Liability And Injury Review Standards

“…In just one example of how Illinois’ system is abused, a hotel maid recently was awarded a $42,500 claim for carpal tunnel after working less than 30 days and 180 hours at a Springfield hotel…”

  • The workplace should be the primary cause of the injury or aggravation of the previously existing condition
  • Employers should not be on the hook financially for injuries that occurred outside of the workplace or in the course of previous employment
  • Health care providers should use nationally recognized American Medical Association and utilization review standards when determining a person’s impairment and treatment following an injury
  • These AMA standards are used in more than three dozen states across the United States and provide a measure of objectivity
  • Workers who are injured while under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol should not be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits
  • The only exception would be if they can provide that the workplace caused the injury
  • Illinois should limit “wage differential” awards that are currently paid for life
  • These monetary awards are designed to make up the difference between an employee’s pay before and after an injury and were never intended to be paid past retirement age

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/05/01/1690712/guest-view-its-time-to-get-workers.html#ixzz1LJ1LGtpZ

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by | April 15, 2011 · 10:13 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Satisfaction: "Hotel Room Cleanliness And Maintenance" Are #1 Guest-Reported Complaints And Problems

“…the most consistently reported problems from hotel guests across the country involve room cleanliness and maintenance, according to experts at Hospitality Staffing Solutions.”

“…Properties benefit when they can maintain a static number of permanent employees with relative job security while meeting the ever-changing demand that is inherent to the travel and tourism industry with help from staffing companies like HSS, which is equipped to meet the needs of most properties within 24 hours.”

A property can offer hundreds of amenities including a first-class spa, top-rated restaurants and an immaculate 18-hole golf course, but if a guest checks in and finds their room dirty, that guest may leave and never come back – and you can bet they’ll tell their friends (and probably Tweet) about it, too!
 
At HSS, housekeeping specialists undergo a selective recruiting process, which includes background checks, reference interviews and extensive training sessions. As a result, they are consistently listed at the top of posted room inspection scores. 

“Room attendants are the primary ambassadors of any guest-centric facility, so we are very picky,” said Holliday. “The key to ensuring high levels of excellence among back-of-house employees is to selectively recruit the best talent and motivate them by offering advancement opportunities tied to performance. This formula has worked very well for us.”
 
“Hotels often need to staff entire departments in a very short amount of time,” he said. ”

For more:  http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=20370

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by | April 8, 2011 · 10:53 am

Hospitality Industry Health Insurance: Law Firms Advise Hotel Ownership And Management To Prepare For Implementation Of Health Care Reform With "Wellness Programs" And State-Run "Insurance Exchanges" On The Way

Given the legal challenges to the proposed reform of the United States health care industry, there might be a temptation on the part of hoteliers to take a laid-back attitude toward preparing for the changes. That line of thinking, however, would be a mistake, said Scott Sinder, a partner in the Steptoe & Johnson law firm government affairs and public policy practice.

  • One of the biggest issues hotel companies will have to wrestle with will be whether to retain grandfather status, which refers to plans in place prior to 23 March 2010
  • Grandfathered plans, for example, can allow for changes to the network of providers but cannot impose new or decreased annual spending limits
  • The potential introduction of a wellness provision that provides funding for employers to establish wellness programs…will be the biggest key to keeping health-care costs down
  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that just 38% of the employees in the hospitality sector had access to health care as of March 2010 compared with 71% across all industries
  • Every state will eventually have an Insurance Exchange as most state lawsuits against health care reform will be settled before Presidential Election

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/5314/Hoteliers-should-assume-health-care-changes

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by | April 3, 2011 · 4:02 pm

Hotel Industry Security Risks: Georgia Hotel Security Guard Shoots And Kills Armed Robbery Suspect After Chase Through Hotel

The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. on a property adjacent to the Quality Inn Suites on Old National Highway, according to the College Park Police Department.

A security guard chased down an armed robber and killed him early Friday outside a hotel in College Park. Kadeesh Comer, 21, had just robbed a clerk at the hotel, and a security guard chased him outside the hotel, police said.

Comer shot at the guard with a 0.22-cal revolver, and the guard returned fire, killing him, police said. No charges were filed against the guard. Hotel owner Ramesh Bhagat told Channel 2 Action News that the clerk handed over $150, but that it wasn’t enough for the robber.

“He asked for more money, but we said ‘We don’t have more money,’ because we do all business by credit card,” Bhagat told the news station. The security guard noticed the commotion and intervened.

For more:  http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/police-hotel-guard-shoots-895131.html

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by | March 24, 2011 · 7:42 am

Hotel Industry Employee Injury Risks: Video From The "Health And Safety Authority" In Ireland Demonstrates "Risk Factors" Associated With Housekeepers Handling Of Laundry

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWyqLuBRuao]

  • Manual Handling Case Study 15 Handling Hotel Linen
  • On Screen Text: Manual Handling: Handling of linen in a hotel bedroom
  • Hotel employee removing linen from hotel bedroom
  • Scene 1:
    A hotel employee has just finished changing the linen on a bed. He walks out of the hotel room and down a corridor to throw the linen into an already-full black bag. He then throws the bag over his shoulder and down the corridor further, and throws the black bag into a lift. The lift is already full of other black linen bags.
  • On Screen Text:
    Need to carry out a risk assessment of this task
    Look at how the job is carried out
    Collect information: Load weight, etc
    Identify risk factors with the job
    Make changes to improve the job
  • On Screen Text:
    Risk Factors/Problems
  • Scene 2:
    Still image of character throwing the bag into the lift. Large Red “X” marks indicate the risk factors with the job.
    Load is too heavy
    Load is too large
    Difficult to grasp
    Physical effort is too strenuous
    Bending and twisting of the trunk
  • On Screen Text:
    The new system of work: Assess risk to reduce and reorganise manual handling
  • Scene 3:
    The hotel employee put the used bed linen into a linen trolley, rolls the trolley out of the room and down the corridor to the waiting lift. He rolls the trolley into the lift.
  • On Screen Text:
    Manual Handling : Assess to avoid, reduce or reorganise

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by | March 23, 2011 · 12:26 pm

Hotel Industry Information Security Risks: California Hotel Employees Union Files Suit Over Identification Cards "Encoded With Social Security Numbers"

Disney hotel union members submitted Tuesday a petition with about 1,400 signatures to managers, seeking changes to their employee cards that they say would protect them against identity theft.

Unite Here Local 11, the union that represents about 2,100 hotel workers, is fighting to change identification cards that have encoded Social Security numbers, which can be read by smartphone apps and other devices.

Already last month, the union filed a federal class action lawsuit, claiming that the cards violate state law. Union members collected signatures to emphasize that the majority of hotel workers want an immediate change to their ID cards, rather than a few listed on the lawsuit. Leigh Shelton, a union spokeswoman, said some other unions also are supporting the cause, but they did not participate in this petition.

About 20 workers took their petition to the Disney administration building in Anaheim on Tuesday morning.

“This is a very serious problem that we hope they resolve immediately,” said Eddie Chavez, a union organizer and Disneyland Hotel bellman.

For more:  http://www.ocregister.com/news/-293152–.html

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by | March 21, 2011 · 3:54 pm

Hospitality Industry Workers Comp Risks: Virginia Hotel Employee Awarded Workers Comp Benefits After Fall In Restroom Injures Shoulder Already Receiving Medical Treatment

The Virginia Court of Appeals found that a cook’s right shoulder injury was not related to a preexisting condition so it awarded him benefits.

  • A cook for a hotel slipped on a wet floor in the restroom at his workplace and fell, hitting his right shoulder against a sink.
  • Before the fall, he sought medical treatment for right shoulder pain.
  • He required further treatment after the fall and sought benefits.
  • The hotel argued that there was no causal connection between the cook’s fall at work and his shoulder injury and that his injury was a preexisting condition.
  • The Virginia Court of Appeals disagreed and awarded benefits to the cook.

The court said the cook had different diagnoses and treatments before and after the fall. The court noted that the cook was undergoing treatment for tendonitis before the fall and was diagnosed with a right shoulder strain, contusion, and sprain after the fall. The cook received injections both before and after the fall, but they consisted of different drugs. Additionally, the surgical recommendations before and after the fall differed.

The hotel also argued that the cook failed to disclose his prior shoulder injury to two doctors, so their opinions should not have been relied on. The court disagreed. One doctor noted that the cook’s past medical history was “noncontributory,” and the second noted that it was “negative.” The court said these terms did not necessarily establish that the cook did not inform the doctors of his previous shoulder problems. Rather, the terms could have been interpreted to indicate a lack of foundation for alternative causation.

For more:  http://www.riskandinsurance.com/story.jsp?storyId=533334406

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