Category Archives: Risk Management

by | April 8, 2012 · 7:02 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Florida Hotel Employee Charged With Stealing $500 Of "Dom Perignon Champagne"; Picture Posting On "Facebook" Leads To Arrest

“…an employee at the hotel discovered pictures on a Facebook page of a former night auditor and a friend holding Dom Perignon champagne bottles with the caption: “Hey, we’re having Dom in the morning!”

The security cameras had been turned off at the time of the theft, according to a subsequent investigation.

A Panama City Beach hotel reported the theft of $500 of Dom Perignon champagne in February after an inventory of supplies showed three bottles were missing, according to a news release from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

The hotel manager ID’d the man as Jonathon Appleby, a former night auditor at the hotel. Appleby had access to the cooler with the champagne and to the security cameras while he was employed an investigation determined.

For more:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/strange/sfl-champagne-20120408,0,4727820.story

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by | April 7, 2012 · 1:49 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Labor Department Investigation Forces Massachussetts Restaurants To Repay Employees For Back Wages And Incorrect Overtime

“…investigation found that several restaurants “violated the FLSA by paying  employees flat salaries for all hours worked without overtime pay, failing to  combine hours worked at multiple locations for overtime purposes, paying  incorrect overtime rates to tipped employees, making illegal deductions from  employees’ wages and failing to keep accurate records of employees’ hours….”

“…Even  more serious, our investigations found an emerging trend of misclassifying  restaurant workers as independent contractors in order to avoid minimum wage,  overtime and record-keeping requirements of the FLSA.”

Dozens of eateries around the state are paying employees for back wages as a  result of an ongoing enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of  Labor.

To date, investigations by the Boston District Office of the department’s  Wage and Hour Division have found $1,307,808 in back wages due to 478 employees  of 34 different Massachusetts restaurants.

Fifteen Not Your Average Joe’s locations have been cited, including the one  on Enon Street in Beverly, which is to pay nine employees a total of $44,201.73  in back wages.

The investigation, according to a release by the U.S. Department of Labor,  uncovered significant violations of the minimum wage, overtime and  record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act in many Massachusetts  restaurants.

Read more: Beverly restaurant to pay employees for back wages – Beverly, MA – Beverly Citizen http://www.wickedlocal.com/beverly/newsnow/x221034920/Beverly-restaurant-to-pay-employees-for-back-wages#ixzz1rJqNdvfO

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by | April 6, 2012 · 1:46 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: U.S. House Introduces Bill Calling For "One-Year Extension Of The ADA Deadline" On Installation Of Public Pool Lifts

“…A second congressional bill addressing the Americans with Disabilities Act has been introduced…once Congressman Mulvaney saw the strain placed on small-business owners who were rushed to [comply], and the concern for the safety of those using pool lifts, he decided to introduce [the bill]…”

It would prohibit lawsuits against pool and spa facilities for ADA violations alleged to occur between March 15, 2012, and one year after enactment of the bill. “Congressman Mulvaney believes portable lifts and shared lifts are the best solution…,”

On March 26, Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) introduced H.R. 4256, calling for a one-year extension of the ADA deadline for public pools. If passed, the bill also would allow portable lifts and sharing of lifts between vessels. “It allows for lift accessibility and safety, as well as being more economically achievable…”
The bill has 26 original co-sponsors. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is among the most recognized, and Mike Ross (D-Ark.) is the only Democrat.
In early March, Mulvaney joined 67 members of Congress in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, which enforces the ADA, decrying its decision not to allow portable lifts or sharing. In addition, he took issue with the timing of the decision, which came 45 days before the deadline. “In that short time, approximately 309,000 pools or spas would need their own individual lifts,” McAdaragh said. The letter asked the DOJ to, at the very least, extend the deadline by six months.

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by | · 1:46 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: U.S. House Introduces Bill Calling For "One-Year Extension Of The ADA Deadline" On Installation Of Public Pool Lifts

“…A second congressional bill addressing the Americans with Disabilities Act has been introduced…once Congressman Mulvaney saw the strain placed on small-business owners who were rushed to [comply], and the concern for the safety of those using pool lifts, he decided to introduce [the bill]…”

It would prohibit lawsuits against pool and spa facilities for ADA violations alleged to occur between March 15, 2012, and one year after enactment of the bill. “Congressman Mulvaney believes portable lifts and shared lifts are the best solution…,”

On March 26, Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) introduced H.R. 4256, calling for a one-year extension of the ADA deadline for public pools. If passed, the bill also would allow portable lifts and sharing of lifts between vessels. “It allows for lift accessibility and safety, as well as being more economically achievable…”
The bill has 26 original co-sponsors. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is among the most recognized, and Mike Ross (D-Ark.) is the only Democrat.
In early March, Mulvaney joined 67 members of Congress in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, which enforces the ADA, decrying its decision not to allow portable lifts or sharing. In addition, he took issue with the timing of the decision, which came 45 days before the deadline. “In that short time, approximately 309,000 pools or spas would need their own individual lifts,” McAdaragh said. The letter asked the DOJ to, at the very least, extend the deadline by six months.

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by | April 2, 2012 · 7:48 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: "End Child Prostitution And Trafficking (ECPAT)" Seeks Hotels' Assistance In Fighting Internet Prostitution

End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) has been trying to enlist the help of hotels in fighting prostitution by agreeing to:

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM

THE SIX CRITERIA

Suppliers of tourism services adopting the code commit themselves to implement the following six criteria:
1. To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children.
2. To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations.
3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
4. To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.
5. To provide information to local “key persons” at the destinations.
6. To report annually.

http://www.ecpat.net/ei/Programmes_CST.asp

Human trafficking is the second-largest organized crime in the world. The U.N. estimates more than one million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited each year in the multibillion dollar sex industry.

The ease with which traffickers can use the Internet to sell sex has changed the way the sex trade operates. Instead of working the streets, women and girls are increasingly being sold in hotels.

But ECPAT executive director Carol Smolinsky says many hotels have balked at some of the policies the organization asks them to follow.  “When a company signs the code of conduct it has to have a policy against sexual exploitation of children,” Smolinsky says. “Over these years it’s been frankly shocking to me that even the step of having a policy against sexual exploitation has been troubling shall we say for them.”
One of the requirements of the code is that hotels inform their customers of that policy.  “One problem we’re having in our industry is some of the things they’re asking the hotels to do,” says Joe Mcinerney, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. “Putting notices in the rooms… they feel that might be an intrusion into customers thinking that maybe there is a problem at that hotel.”

For more:  http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Nun-Helps-Lead-Fight-Against-Hotel-Prostitution-145761575.html

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by | · 7:48 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: "End Child Prostitution And Trafficking (ECPAT)" Seeks Hotels' Assistance In Fighting Internet Prostitution

End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) has been trying to enlist the help of hotels in fighting prostitution by agreeing to:

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM

THE SIX CRITERIA

Suppliers of tourism services adopting the code commit themselves to implement the following six criteria:
1. To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children.
2. To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations.
3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
4. To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.
5. To provide information to local “key persons” at the destinations.
6. To report annually.

http://www.ecpat.net/ei/Programmes_CST.asp

Human trafficking is the second-largest organized crime in the world. The U.N. estimates more than one million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited each year in the multibillion dollar sex industry.

The ease with which traffickers can use the Internet to sell sex has changed the way the sex trade operates. Instead of working the streets, women and girls are increasingly being sold in hotels.

But ECPAT executive director Carol Smolinsky says many hotels have balked at some of the policies the organization asks them to follow.  “When a company signs the code of conduct it has to have a policy against sexual exploitation of children,” Smolinsky says. “Over these years it’s been frankly shocking to me that even the step of having a policy against sexual exploitation has been troubling shall we say for them.”
One of the requirements of the code is that hotels inform their customers of that policy.  “One problem we’re having in our industry is some of the things they’re asking the hotels to do,” says Joe Mcinerney, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. “Putting notices in the rooms… they feel that might be an intrusion into customers thinking that maybe there is a problem at that hotel.”

For more:  http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Nun-Helps-Lead-Fight-Against-Hotel-Prostitution-145761575.html

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by | March 30, 2012 · 1:10 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Alabama Restaurant Guests Are Exposed To "Hepatitis A" Through An "Infected Employee"

Hepatitis A is a communicable disease that spreads from person-to-person. It is spread almost exclusively through fecal-oral contact, generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water. Symptoms may not occur for several weeks after exposure and may include abdominal discomfort, fever, malaise, muscle aches, and a yellowing of the skin called jaundice. In rare cases, hepatitis A causes liver failure.

In the wake of a report linking a potential mass exposure of hepatitis A to a Northport McDonald’s restaurant, food safety expert and attorney William Marler is calling on McDonald’s to vaccinate its employees against the virus.

On March 28, the Alabama Department of Public Health released a statement indicating that people who ate at a Northport McDonald’s, located at 2000 McFarland Boulevard, from February 28 through March 14 may have been exposed to hepatitis A through an infected employee. Customers who ate breakfast at the McDonald’s on March 16 may also have been exposed.

Hepatitis A is the only foodborne illness for which a vaccine exists; however infection can only be prevented if the vaccine is given within 14 days of exposure. Therefore those individuals who were potentially exposed on March 14 and March 16 should contact a medical provider immediately to receive treatment. Those who may have been exposed prior to March 14 should have developed symptoms by now if they have contracted the virus.

“From both a public health perspective and business perspective, it makes sense for restaurants to vaccinate their employees against hepatitis A,” said Marler. “It is much simpler to take the initial proactive precaution rather than gamble on a mass scare that equates to potential illness, loss of business, and public uncertainty.”

For more:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9347722.htm

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by | · 1:10 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Alabama Restaurant Guests Are Exposed To "Hepatitis A" Through An "Infected Employee"

Hepatitis A is a communicable disease that spreads from person-to-person. It is spread almost exclusively through fecal-oral contact, generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water. Symptoms may not occur for several weeks after exposure and may include abdominal discomfort, fever, malaise, muscle aches, and a yellowing of the skin called jaundice. In rare cases, hepatitis A causes liver failure.

In the wake of a report linking a potential mass exposure of hepatitis A to a Northport McDonald’s restaurant, food safety expert and attorney William Marler is calling on McDonald’s to vaccinate its employees against the virus.

On March 28, the Alabama Department of Public Health released a statement indicating that people who ate at a Northport McDonald’s, located at 2000 McFarland Boulevard, from February 28 through March 14 may have been exposed to hepatitis A through an infected employee. Customers who ate breakfast at the McDonald’s on March 16 may also have been exposed.

Hepatitis A is the only foodborne illness for which a vaccine exists; however infection can only be prevented if the vaccine is given within 14 days of exposure. Therefore those individuals who were potentially exposed on March 14 and March 16 should contact a medical provider immediately to receive treatment. Those who may have been exposed prior to March 14 should have developed symptoms by now if they have contracted the virus.

“From both a public health perspective and business perspective, it makes sense for restaurants to vaccinate their employees against hepatitis A,” said Marler. “It is much simpler to take the initial proactive precaution rather than gamble on a mass scare that equates to potential illness, loss of business, and public uncertainty.”

For more:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9347722.htm

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by | March 29, 2012 · 8:38 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New York Elevator Mechanic Dies When Electrocuted During Maintenance Work Near Control Panel

“…(He) was performing maintenance in the engine room on the ninth floor of  the Axa Equitable building …when he was electrocuted just  after 9:30 p.m…”  

Con Edison was called to the scene for safety reasons, an  agency spokesman said, but it was unclear how the man came into contact with  live wires in the room that houses a control panel and a riser that works to  operate the building’s 34 elevators.

A 39-year-old elevator mechanic died when he was electrocuted at work in a  44-story midtown office building Wednesday night, fire and police officials  said.  Emergency responders found  the repairman unconscious and in cardiac arrest, a fire official said.  But  he died less than 30 minutes later, according to a police source.
“He’s  dead,” a fire source at the scene said. “He was lying on live  wires.”
Building workers said the man had been employed for the past five  years by the Schindler Group – a company that develops, installs and services  elevators and escalators, according to its website – which contracts with the  building to supply in-house mechanics to keep up with repairs.
“He has  three kids, it’s horrible,” said one coworker said. “He was a very nice guy. He  was hardworking and smart,” he said of his fallen friend. “But no one knows what  happened.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mechanic-electrocuted-elevator-manhattan-office-building-article-1.1052532#ixzz1qWQmFsvr

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by | March 27, 2012 · 2:14 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: California Hotel Evacuated Due To "Abandoned Suitcase" Bomb Threat

The suitcase was ruled harmless by bomb squad personnel after an X-ray determined that clothes and other personal items were inside. They would later destroy it with a high-powered water canon.

An abandoned suitcase that forced the evacuation of the Georgian Hotel and nearby buildings for nearly four hours on Monday was determined to be harmless, Santa Monica police said.  The suitcase was left in the Ocean Avenue hotel at approximately 9:30 a.m. by a man who said he was leaving it for a person staying at the establishment.

Hotel employees said that no name matching that person was on the hotel’s registry, prompting the man to flee. Alarmed by the incident, staff members called the police who ultimately called in the L.A. County Sheriff’s bomb squad to investigate the situation, SMPD spokesman Sgt. Richard Lewis said.

The evacuations came just as the Senior Center was preparing to serve free lunch, forcing nearly 55 seniors and five staff members to flee the building, employees said.

For more:  http://www.smdp.com/Articles-local-news-c-2012-03-26-73724.113116-Police-Suspicious-suitcase-had-no-explosives.html

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