Tag Archives: Immigration

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Assessing the Midterms’ Impact on Lodging”

AH&LA is hopeful that final action on a long-term TRIA extension occurs in the coming weeks during the lame duck session.Vote The Senate passed its reauthorization bill earlier this year on a huge bipartisan vote, but action has stalled in the House.

The new Senate Republican Majority, combined with a larger House Republican Majority, will significantly alter the policy landscape for the business community and the lodging industry, says the government affairs team at AH&LA.

The association anticipates a busy year legislatively that includes smaller, targeted measures getting to the President’s desk and being signed into law, though likely not any grand compromises on issues like immigration or the nation’s fiscal policy. When it comes to issues impacting the lodging industry, here’s what AH&LA expects to come down the pike:

For more: http://bit.ly/13kLmJr

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Assessing the Midterms’ Impact on Lodging”

Filed under Employee Benefits, Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Missouri Restaurant Owes Six “Undocumented Alien Workers” $450,000 In Back Pay And Penalties; Court Rules “Federal Labor Law Trumps Federal Immigration Law”

“…The court held that “aliens, authorized to work or not, may recover unpaid and underpaid wages” under rights granted by the Fair Labor Hospitality Industry Wage Violation LawsuitsStandards Act…The appellate judges said that “numerous district courts, including the one in this case, and the secretary of labor all agree: Employers who unlawfully hire unauthorized aliens must otherwise comply with federal employment laws…”

In a case that pit U.S. labor law against immigration law, a panel of federal appellate judges has ruled that six undocumented workers are owed about $450,000 in back pay and penalties for uncompensated work at a Kansas City restaurant — the popular Jerusalem Cafe in Westport. The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said this week that federal labor law trumped federal immigration law in this instance.

The court ruled that a former owner and former manager of Jerusalem Cafe could not argue that the workers were in the United States illegally and therefore lacked standing to sue for unpaid wages.

That argument, the appellate panel said, is akin to saying that Al Capone couldn’t have been prosecuted for tax evasion because his earnings were illegally made. (The infamous mobster was jailed on such charges.)

The lawsuit said five of the six workers had each worked 77 hours a week at the restaurant. It said the workers were known to lack official work authorizations and were paid in cash on a weekly basis.

The case attracted national attention, prompting the U.S. secretary of labor to file a brief on behalf of six workers who were employed at the restaurant in the period spanning 2007 to 2010.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/01/4383369/court-says-undocumented-workers.html#storylink=cpy

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Missouri Restaurant Owes Six “Undocumented Alien Workers” $450,000 In Back Pay And Penalties; Court Rules “Federal Labor Law Trumps Federal Immigration Law”

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

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Utah Hotels Report Layoffs After U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) Audits Find Insufficient "Validations To Work"

 “Responsible employers who seek to conduct their business lawfully are put at an unfair disadvantage as they try to compete with unscrupulous businesses. Such businesses gain a competitive edge by paying illegal alien workers low wages or otherwise exploiting them.”  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Some reports say 120 employees have been laid off at the Grand America Hotel after an audit report found several of their workers did not have current validation to work in the United States.

Hotel president Bruce Fery said in a statement Wednesday the Grand America is not alone and audits are being conducted statewide. He says that the employees that were found with invalid documentation had “presented facially valid documents when they were hired.”

The recent layoffs come as Utahns and local politicians are debating whether to allow undocumented workers to remain.

For more:  http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-grand-america-hotel-lays-off-workers-over-lack-of-work-documentation-20110831,0,3023635.story

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Utah Hotels Report Layoffs After U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) Audits Find Insufficient "Validations To Work"

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

Hospitality Industry Employment Risk Management: Costly Immigration-Related Legal Issues Can Be Covered With Employment Practices Liability Insurance Enhancements

With the average defense cost of a single plaintiff suit hovering around $100,000 and the average award at about $500,000 based on lawyers’ anecdotal reports, employment practices liability insurance has become a must-buy policy for most businesses for protection against claims of wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and age and race discrimination.

If the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement opened a costly investigation of your business and employment practices, would the legal costs be covered under your existing employment practices liability insurance policy?

For many companies, the answer is surprisingly no.

When underwritten with the right enhancement, an EPLI policy can also provide valuable protection against immigration-related issues and government inquiries, which have risen dramatically in recent years.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports:

  • Onsite employment eligibility verification (known as I-9 inspections after the I-9 form required for each new employee) more than doubled in 2009 versus the previous year to 1,069 cases. 
  • Notice of Intent to Fine (NIF) cases have also risen substantially, from 32 cases totaling $2.3 million in fines in 2008 to 142 cases totaling $15.8 million in fines in 2009.

For more:   http://www.property-casualty.com/Issues/2010/June-1421-2010/Pages/Employment-Practice-Issues-Surface-As-Immigration-Policy-Debate-Rages-.aspx

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employment Risk Management: Costly Immigration-Related Legal Issues Can Be Covered With Employment Practices Liability Insurance Enhancements

Filed under Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability