Category Archives: Risk Management

by | March 16, 2012 · 12:34 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotels Granted "11th Hour" Reprieve In Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) "Pool Lift Compliance" Mandate

 “…The federal government sought to make public pools, including hotel pools, accessible for people with disabilities in 2010. There are about 51,000 hotels in the USA, and the majority have some kind of a pool…”

The U.S. Justice Department will grant the hotel industry at least a 60-day extension for complying with a new rule aimed at making existing hotel pools compliant with the 22-year-old Americans With Disabilities Act. It’s a decision that the hotel industry lobbied hard for at the 11th hour, as a number of hotel owners and managers suggested they might close their pools or fill in their whirlpools due to the uncertainty the new rules created.

For more:  http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2012/03/hotel-pool-lifts-deadlines-her-confusion-persists/648998/1

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by | March 15, 2012 · 8:23 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Owners Compliance With Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) "Pool Lift Regulations" Is Effective March 15; Vulnerable To "Unruh Civil Rights Act" Violation Lawsuits

“…California-based businesses should be particularly worried.  The Unruh Civil Rights Act, itself a wellspring for abusive litigation, incorporates the ADA by reference, making any violation of the ADA also a violation of Unruh…Unruh has more teeth than the ADA—$4,000 per violation, regardless of intent, plus attorney’s fees…”

 The Department of Justice granted the industry’s call for a clarification: But it was not the answer they wanted. All 300,000 public pools in the United States must install a permanent fixed lift. The deadline for compliance is tomorrow, March 15. Call it “Poolmageddon.”

There is no way all 300,000 pools can install permanent lifts by Thursday. There simply are not enough lifts in existence or enough people who know how to install them, according to industry spokesmen. Plus, each lift costs between $3,000 and $10,000 and installation can add $5,000 to $10,000 to the total.

The Administration has assured the industry that it does not plan to enforce the new guidelines right away.  But the ADA contains a private enforcement mechanism, empowering private attorneys to bring suit immediately, collecting attorney’s fees from violators.  As the article mentions, trial lawyers contributed over $45 million to Obama’s campaign.

For more:  http://ordinary-gentlemen.com/timkowal/2012/03/15/new-ada-guidelines-expose-pool-operators-to-private-lawsuits/

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by | March 14, 2012 · 2:41 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: California Hotel Security Guard Charged With "Grand Theft And Burglary"; Accessed Online System To Steal Guest's Valuables

“…In his part-time security job for the hotel, Quinton was entrusted with access to an online lost and found system, which he is suspected of looting…”

“…In addition….(he) covered surveillance cameras in the hotel security office and stole $680 in cash from an office safe…”

A Los Angeles Police Department officer moonlighting as a security guard at Laguna Beach’s Surf & Sand Resort is to be charged with grand theft and burglary, the district attorney’s office said on Tuesday. Laguna Beach police, who had set up surveillance cameras within the hotel after its staff reported irregularities that began in October, arrested Quinton on Jan. 24, Lt. Jason Kravetz said.

When police arrested Quinton on Jan. 24, he had disappeared for over an hour during his shift, including from surveillance cameras police were monitoring in a spare hotel room, stealing $290 in bedding from a locked hotel storage room, and storing the items in his car. Detectives who went to Quinton’s home after the arrest seized more property, Kravetz said.

Hotel staff aided the investigation with monitoring cameras while detectives observed the employee from a hotel room. “We wanted to make sure we had a really solid case,” said Kravetz, who pointed out that most Orange County law enforcement agencies prohibit sworn officers from moonlighting in security posts or jobs involving alcohol. In Los Angeles County, officers have a long history of moonlighting as security for celebrities, he pointed out.

In October, Quinton allegedly stole cash that had been recovered from a room and secured in the hotel’s lost and found by accessing the online system and changing the cash entry into a “gold watch.” He is suspected of changing the room number where the $2,000 in cash had been found and falsely logging that the watch was returned to its owner, stealing $960 from the safe, Kim’s statement said.

For more:  http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/2012/03/13/moonlighting-cop-charged-hotel/

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by | March 13, 2012 · 9:18 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel Management Must Comply With Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Revisions Concerning Recreational Areas; Exercise Rooms, Saunas And Benches Are Areas Of Concern

New revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act are bringing hotel recreational areas under the watchful eye of the U.S. Department of Justice for the first time. And unlike other guidelines covered by the 1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, recreation areas do not qualify for safe harbor.

Exercise rooms:

  •  The key issue in exercise rooms is clearance space, the moderators said.
  • “At least one of each type of equipment is required to be on an accessible route and have clear floor space adjacent to the equipment so that somebody is able to park their mobility device there and then get out of that device and transfer or may be able to walk and get on to this piece of equipment,” Salmen said.
  • More than one piece of equipment can share the same clear floor space, he said.
  • “This is going to have implications on how your fitness rooms are laid out, and (in) a lot of small fitness rooms you will have to do rearranging or potentially may even have to lose a piece of equipment in order to try to provide these clear floor areas,” Anderson added.

Saunas and steam rooms:

  •  Hotels must have accessible routes into saunas and steam rooms. Further, they must have enough space within the rooms so guests with disabilities can turn around and get out, Salmen said.
  • “So doors have to be compliant as per the door criteria with 32 inches of minimum clear opening width. The pressure on that door can’t be more than five pounds. The thresholds for those doors have to be compliant,” he said.

Benches:

  •  Benches in hotel locker rooms and steam rooms can be as little as 42 inches with a depth of 20 inches to 24 inches, Salmen said.
  • “But in these new rules we are now required to have a maneuvering space in front of the bench and at one end of the bench so that it is (easier to slide over) from the wheelchair seat onto the seat of the bench,” he said.
  • Benches must be attached to a wall or provide a back rest so users will have something to lean against, Salmen added.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7732/ADA-standards-call-recreation-areas-into-focus

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by | March 12, 2012 · 7:32 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Washington Hotel And Restaurant Sued By Fired Waiter For "Discrimination, Disparate Treatment And Infliction Of Emotional Distress"

“…He contends Matt Stickle, executive chef of the hotel’s Bite restaurant, belittled him in front of customers and co-workers and that the Murano’s managers did nothing to rectify the situation when he complained. Conteh, who immigrated to the United States from Africa, contends he was treated hurtfully and unfairly because he’s black…”

A Pierce County man is suing Tacoma’s Hotel Murano and the executive chef of its high-end restaurant, contending they discriminated against him when he worked there as a waiter. Muhammed Conteh filed his lawsuit last week in Pierce County Superior Court. Conteh seeks unspecified damages for discrimination, disparate treatment and the infliction of emotional distress.

Conteh contends, among other things, that Stickle “continuously harassed plaintiff about his personal smell and would physically smell the plaintiff and embarrass him in front of customers,” according to the suit.

Conteh said he also was punished for using the kitchen telephone and engaging in horseplay with colleagues. White co-workers who engaged in similar behavior were not disciplined, he contends.

Conteh was fired in January after working at the restaurant for eight years. He has been unemployed since, said his lawyer, Thaddeus Martin.

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by | March 11, 2012 · 1:10 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Risk: Ohio Hotel Fire Likely Caused By Electrical Problem In Ceiling Area Of Indoor Pool; Damage Exceeds $1 Million

“…The fire originated in the ceiling area of the indoor pool, it was likely an electrical problem, according to the release…”

“…Flames traveled from the overhang above the indoor pool to other walls in the hotel… Winds forced the smoke and fire up to the third floor and fanned the flames…”  

Holiday Inn Express employees stood huddled in thin blankets near Frisch’s Big Boy as firefighters from 10 departments attacked the building with axes and water. Smoke billowed from windows with punched-out screens on the southwest corner of the building at 773 Hebron Road. The three-alarm fire was fueled by a strong wind, up to 30 mph, from the northwest.

Firefighters tore into the building and tossed debris from open windows. Between fire truck sirens, the hotel fire alarm and radio calls of several chiefs, communication was challenging but achieved, Huggins said.

Investigators determined the damage exceeded $1 million, according to the release. Inspectors at the scene said the hotel’s fire alarm system and sprinkler system functioned properly during the blaze, according to the release.

For more:  http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20120309/NEWS01/120309003/Everyone-out-Holiday-Inn-Express-fire-continues

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by | March 10, 2012 · 8:24 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Jury Awards Maryland Woman $225,000 In Nation's Largest "Bed Bug Liability Judgment"

On Thursday, a jury ordered Calidad Furniture & Linen Inc., the store that sold Jackson a pair of wood-frame beds, to pay Jackson and her sons $225,000 for the ordeal. It is one of the largest bedbug liability judgments in the country.

Multimillion-dollar lawsuits over bedbugs have become increasingly common as infestations have spread across the country and victims seek to hold landlords, hotels and retailers responsible for their exterminator bills and mental anguish.

But a public judgment is rare in bedbug liability cases. Lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages have received publicity in recent years, such as several filed against the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. But most fade away with confidential settlements.

In July 2010, Adarien Jackson’s 6-year-old son, Kaden, began complaining of itchy bumps on his ankles. They soon turned into a rash and spread to his back, behind his ear, and on his eyelid.

The child’s pediatrician and dermatologists tried allergy drugs, diet changes, oils and oatmeal baths. But it wasn’t until months later that Jackson discovered the cause of the problem. Kaden’s twin brother, Kyler, began waking in the middle of the night, crying out, “Bugs are crawling on me!”

Jackson realized her sons’ beds — which she had recently purchased from a furniture store in Elkridge — were teeming with bedbugs, according to a lawsuit she filed in Anne Arundel County in December 2010.

 

For more:  http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-03-09/news/bs-md-bed-bug-verdict-20120309_1_bedbug-infestation-bunk-beds-bed-wetting

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by | March 7, 2012 · 1:46 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Hotel Management Compliance Audits Can Expose Potential Labor Department "Wage And Hour Division" Violations

• Make sure nonexempt employees are paid the required minimum wage. The current federal rate is $7.25 per hour (some jurisdictions require a higher rate).  Review deductions to ensure that they do not cut employees’ pay below the minimum wage.
• Be certain nonexempt employees are paid the required overtime. Ensure that all bonuses, shift differentials, service charges and other payments are properly included in computing overtime and that deductions do not improperly cut into overtime pay. 
• Pay special attention to whether nonexempt employees accurately record all worktime. Nonexempt employees must record pre- and post-shift work; shift-change overlap; opening or closing activities; compensable training time, meeting time, “on-call” work; and time spent doing work at home. Employees must record meal time and other non-compensable break time, and they must be paid when they do not take that time off. 
• Be sure that all “exempt” employees meet the requirements for exemption. Review the criteria defining who may be treated as exempt from the Fair Labor Standard Act’s minimum-wage and/or overtime requirements. “Salaried” employees are not necessarily exempt. Certain positions such as sous chefs and sales managers are vulnerable to challenge. 
• Make certain that exempt employees are paid on a salary basis. The most common FLSA exemptions require that such employees be paid on a “salary basis” and thus receive a fixed, predetermined amount for every workweek in which the employee performs any work, without regard to the number of days or hours worked or the quality of work. Salary deductions are very limited. 
• Strictly comply with child-labor restrictions. There is an age 16 limit for general occupations and an age 18 limit for occupations declared “hazardous” by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. 14 and 15 year olds may be employed in limited occupations, within strict hours and times of day limitations. Identify every employee who is 16 or 17, verify his or her age and exact duties. Identify every employee under 16, verify his or her age, exact duties and hours and times of work.
• Comply with all state and local wage-hour requirements. The FLSA does not preempt tougher state or local provisions. These other laws might include a higher minimum wage; daily overtime; minimum pay for reporting to work; more rigorous child-labor limitations; prohibitions on wage deductions; and time limits for paying employees who resign or are fired.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7679/Government-audits-Get-your-house-in-order

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by | March 6, 2012 · 1:22 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: New York Hotel Suffers Thousands Of Dollars In Damage From Group At Guest Room Party; Surveillance Video Critical To Finding Vandals

 “…a group at a party in a room at the Towne Plaza Suites on Holland Avenue is suspected of ripping off wall lights, breaking ceiling tiles and ceiling lights, discharging fire extinguishers and spraying a can of Mace in the third floor hallway…”

Vandals caused several thousand dollars worth of damage to an Albany hotel early Sunday morning. Mace got into the hotel’s ventilation system so the second and third floors had to be evacuated and ventilated, police said in a news release.

Hotel staff members believe the vandals are associated with an Albany man who rented a third fl oor room at the hotel. Police received a call from hotel staff about the incident at 1:15 a.m. Sunday, but when they arrived at the hotel all of the partygoers had already left through the back door.

Surveillance video will be examined to see if any of the vandals can be identified.

For more:  http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2012/mar/05/0305_vanals/

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by | March 4, 2012 · 7:39 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Labor Department Orders South Dakota Hotel To "Pay Back 72 Foreign Workers" For "Impermissible Recruitment Fees"

“…since 2009 Labor Department rules have required businesses to agree it “has contractually forbidden any foreign labor contractor or recruiter whom the employer engages in international recruitment of H-2B workers to seek or receive payments from prospective employees.”

“…Global Employment Agency required impermissible payments from prospective employees from $530 to $1,500…”

The Labor Department announced it had ordered Custer State Park Resorts to pay back $93,000 to its 72 foreign workers hired for the 2010 tourism season. The payments covered impermissible recruitment fees and unpaid overtime. The department fined Custer State Park Resorts an additional $65,000 in civil penalties, which it is appealing. Each year, Custer State Park Resorts hires about 375 to 400 employees, with fewer each year being guest workers, Schmaltz said.

Schmaltz said the unpaid overtime resulted from confusion in the guest worker rules. The bulk of the Labor Department fine Schmaltz said – roughly $60,000 – is repayment for fees taken by Kaubisch.

“We relied too heavily on this vendor who was supposed to know the laws and regulations,” Schmaltz said. “We put too much faith into what Scott knew.”

Kaubisch said he charged the fees to workers “to take care of them.” He took phone calls at all hours, arranged rides and helped secure housing for guest workers. It wasn’t until the investigation last spring, Kaubisch said, that Labor Department officials told him collecting fees was illegal.

Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/employers-ordered-to-pay-back-foreign-staff/article_1eea0e92-65a9-11e1-886a-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1oA6hDlvr

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