Tag Archives: Lawsuits

by | November 1, 2011 · 4:53 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Hotel Management Company Files Suit Against Two Former Employees And Employer Claiming "Theft Of Confidential Documents"

 “…Hersha Hospitality Management LP has filed suit against two former employees and their new employer, claiming the former employees allegedly could have stole thousands of confidential documents before leaving to take their new jobs…”

 In a 17 October filing in U.S. District Court, Hersha said the employees engaged in a “web of deception” in their final days at Hersha before leaving for positions at The Procaccianti Group, a private real-estate investment company. Before leaving, Hersha said in the filing, the two recruited two other key Hersha employees to also leave. The two denied recruiting the other executives, Hersha said in the filing.

By way of a computer forensic examination, Hersha also found the two former employees potentially stole “thousands” of sensitive computer files. “(Hersha) is now faced with the real possibility that its direct competitor, TPG, could have access to its most important competitive secrets and strategies,” Hersha officials wrote in the filing. “Upon information and belief, TPG encouraged this conduct by offering the former (Hersha) employees substantial raises in a blatant effort to harm (Hersha) by raiding its top managers and by inducing them to commit wrongs.”

 

A call to TPG president and CEO James A. Procaccianti was returned by the company’s director of communications Ralph Izzi, who said it is TPG’s policy to not comment on pending litigation. A Message left by HotelNewsNow.com with Hersha president and CEO Naveen P. Kakarla was not returned by deadline Friday.

 

For more:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/external/4053560.html

 

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by | October 7, 2011 · 3:10 pm

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: California Supreme Court To Determine Whether "Non-Exempt Employees Are Entitled To Uninterrupted, Off-Duty Meal Periods Of 30 Minutes For Every Five Hours Worked"

“…At issue in the case is whether California employers must ensure that their employees actually take their meal and rest periods or merely make them available. Guidance is also anticipated regarding the time in the workday in which meal and rest periods must be taken and whether or not legally-compliant meal and rest period policies can protect an employer against class actions even when these policies are unevenly enforced…”

The California Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Brinker Restaurant v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum, et al., real parties in interest) on November 8, 2011, according to the Court docket issued this week. The Court generally issues decisions within 90 days after completion of oral argument and submission of post-argument briefs, if any. A decision is expected by mid-February, 2012.

The decision is extremely important to California employers because meal and rest period claims have been the basis of hundreds of class action lawsuits in California. The Court’s decision could make it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring these claims as class actions, or, depending on the ruling, could establish rigid guidelines which may foster more class actions. Either way, California employers and plaintiffs class action lawyers alike have eagerly awaited this decision since the Supreme Court took up the case in October 2008 and look forward to receiving guidance from the high court.

Under California law, nonexempt employees are entitled to uninterrupted, off-duty meal periods of at least 30 minutes for every five hours worked. While there are certain limited exceptions to this rule (such as a revocable written waiver of the meal period in limited circumstances), employers are required to compensate employees for on-duty meal periods. In addition, California law assesses employers a penalty equal to one hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate for every day there is a meal period violation.

For more:  http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2011/10/labor_brinker_case.html

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by | October 5, 2011 · 12:36 pm

Hospitality Industry Employment Liability Risks: "Employment Practices Liability Insurance" Does Not Cover Lawsuit Brought By EEOC According To A Federal Court; Insurance "Claims" Limited To Suits Brought By "Employees"

“…A federal court in Tennessee recently ruled that an employer’s employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) did not cover a $2.7 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by the EEOC… because the policy limited “claims” to proceedings brought by employees, and the EEOC was not Cracker Barrel’s employee…”

 The specific language in the policy defined a “claim” as “a civil, administrative or arbitration proceeding commenced by the service of a complaint or charge, which is brought by any past, present or prospective ‘employee(s)’ of the ‘insured entity’ against any ‘insured.’”

After 10 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store employees filed charges of race and/or sex discrimination with the EEOC, the EEOC sued Cracker Barrel under Title VII. Cracker Barrel eventually settled the underlying EEOC lawsuit, entering into a consent decree obligating it to place $2 million into a settlement fund. In addition, Cracker Barrel incurred more than $700,000 in defense costs.    

Although Cracker Barrel gave proper written notice of the EEOC lawsuit to its carrier, the Court ruled that Cracker Barrel was not entitled to recover any of the $2.7 million under its EPLI policy. The Court held that the language in the EPLI policy did not extend to the EEOC lawsuit because the policy limited “claims” to proceedings brought by employees, and the EEOC was not Cracker Barrel’s employee.

For more:  http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=21384c3f-95d2-424d-a68c-ecd547ebe694

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by | October 4, 2011 · 5:44 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Colorado Hotel Owners Sued By U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) For Firing White Workers In Favor Of Hispanic Workers

“…one of the fired employees was told she was being terminated because the hotel owners preferred non-American and non-Caucasian workers ‘because it was their impression that such workers are lazy’..”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is seeking back pay for employees that federal officials said were fired from a Hampton Inn franchise in Craig, Colo., according to the lawsuit filed last week.

Former employees at a western Colorado hotel said they were fired and replaced with Latino workers because the business owners thought white and non-Hispanic workers were lazy, according to a federal lawsuit announced Monday.

The lawsuit claims the general manager of the hotel was told by the business owners “to hire more qualified maids, and that they preferred maids to be Hispanic because in their opinion Hispanics worked harder.”

For more:  http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q51LLO1.htm

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by | September 27, 2011 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued Six Months After Guests Discovered Bed Bugs In Room

A hotel employee again offered the couple a new room, the lawsuit said, but they declined. After they returned home, they said Gonzales noticed bite marks on Layman’s shoulder. She said a doctor confirmed she was bitten by bed bugs, and the couple’s suit said a Hollywood Casino manager acknowledged the pests were bed bugs.

“..they pulled down the covers and discovered red bugs running on the sheets. Layman said she videotaped the bugs with her cell phone…”

 

A Blue Island couple is suing the Hollywood Casino Joliet and its hotel, saying they found bed bugs in their room more than six months ago. Tamara Layman and Leo Gonzales filed the lawsuit in Will County this month. Layman said she first tried asking a manager there to simply reimburse her for doctor visits, lost property and a ruined weekend. But she said she’s had no success.

The lawsuit said Layman and Gonzales checked into the casino’s hotel March 5, left their luggage in their room and went to the casino. They returned a few hours later and went to sleep. But Layman said she woke up at 1:30 a.m. and noticed a bug on a pillow.

Gonzales killed the bug, and Layman carried it in a tissue to the hotel’s front desk, where an employee offered to give them another room.

Layman and Gonzales said they threw out most, if not all, of what they brought to the casino including luggage. They also said it took 17 days for the hotel to send an exterminator to their home for an inspection.

For more:  http://news.google.com/news/more?q=hotel&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1366&bih=497&wrapid=tlif131713187418910&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=d6mgZ9jhZCUXCgMuGZI-DUW1QcQjM&ei=adaBTpPAMI7MsQLqmoiYDw&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&resnum=10&ved=0CMsBEKoCMAk

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by | September 16, 2011 · 6:32 pm

Hospitality Industry Lawsuit Risks: "Hotel Negligence" Lawsuits Are Proliferating To Include Hotel Physicians Who Provide Guests' Medical Care

“…Hotel negligence is so prevalent in a vacation destination like Florida, with so many people harmed, that an increasing amount of our practice focuses on so-called resort litigation…and the types of negligence are expanding…to cases involving hotel physicians — doctors with whom the hotels have arrangements, that are called in to care for hotel guests…”

 The problem, says Reboso, is that the hotels typically do not check the credentials of the doctors and house call services they provide to guests. “You don’t know if you’re getting the best doctor in Florida or the worst,” says the injury lawyer. “And neither does the hotel. It’s a recipe for disaster. The clients we’re representing in these kind of resort litigation lawsuits have been harmed by negligent medical care.”

Nor do the hotels give guests the real picture on prices, adds Reboso: “In one case we are handling, the hotel said the service would cost $600, while the credit card charge — which comes well after you’ve left the hotel — was $6,300. We have found plenty of other cases in Florida when a $500 charge suddenly turns into a $4,000 or $5,000 bill. Obviously, the hotel industry and the medical profession need to educate themselves about what is going on and do something about it.”

 

For more:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/9/prweb8793265.htm

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by | August 10, 2011 · 8:03 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Alaska Hotel's Lawsuit Against Union's Call For Boycott Thrown Out As Federal Judge Rules Actions Protected By Constitution

“…the lawsuit stated that the union has both defamed it and interfered with its ability to conduct business…with the boycott costing  the hotel more than $638,000…A federal judge this month ruled against the hotel, finding that the union’s actions are protected either the U.S. Constitution or federal labor law…”

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by the operator of a downtown Anchorage hotel over union activities. Unite Here Local 878 has been engaged in a campaign on behalf of workers at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa. Union organizer Matthew Fennell says issues include job security, health care costs and workload for about 150 hotel workers.

Workers have been without a contract since 2009.

For more: http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-judge-throws-out-hotel-lawsuit-against-local-union-20110809,0,4092962.story

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by | April 13, 2011 · 9:31 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Major Hotel Sued In New York Supreme Court Over "Legionnaires' Disease Contracted At Dubai Hotel

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is facing a $16.7m (AED61.3m) lawsuit in the US after two guests staying at the Westin Mina Seyahi in Dubai claim they caught legionnaires disease at the property.

The paper reported that Nogues started to feel weak and feverish two days after checking into the hotel with her son and a friend on February 14. With her health deteriorating, she returned to France on February 21 where she was also diagnosed with legionnaires’ disease.

The suit claims that Thomas Boyle, from Britain, and Elodie Nogues, from France, contracted the disease after staying at the Westin in January and February of 2009, according to a report in The National.

It claims the health of the pair deteriorated rapidly and resulted in hospital stays.

The disease is a form of pneumonia spread through airborne water droplets, which thrives in water and air-conditioning systems.

For more:  http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-hotel-faces-16-7m-lawsuit-over-legionnaires-393411.html

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by | March 31, 2011 · 10:05 am

Hospitality Industry Accident Risks: Texas Hotel Sued For Negligence In Guest "Slip And Fall" Injury

Pomrenke accuses Homewood Suites of negligence for not warning customers of the dangers of the wet floor or offering an alternative route around the area. She asks for an unspecified amount of money in damages for medical costs, loss of income and court fees. Pomrenke represents herself in this matter and asks for a jury trial.

A Harris County woman is suing a Memorial hotel after she allegedly dislocated her knee when she slipped on a wet lobby floor. Emily L. Pomrenke filed a lawsuit March 28 in Harris County District Court against Homewood Suites Hilton-Austin South.

According to the petition, Pomrenke was a guest of the Homewood Suites in April 2009. As she was walking in the hotel lobby with her son in the early afternoon, Pomrenke says, she slipped on the wet marble floor that had just been cleaned by the hotel staff. She alleges she dislocated her knee, bruised her tailbone and tore a retina in her right eye in the fall. Pomrenke claims an accident report was written up by the hotel manager and that she received a phone call from the hotel’s insurance carrier, which told her Homewood Suites would take full responsibility for the accident.

For more:  http://www.ultimatememorial.com/stories/239385-memorial-hotel-named-in-slip-and-fall-claim

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by | February 3, 2011 · 10:21 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel Owners Must Strive To "Avoid" Employee Lawsuits With "Strong Management" And "Attentive HR Staff"

“…a review of selected cases shows plaintiffs prevailed in 55% of retaliation and whistleblower lawsuits and in 75% of sexual harassment cases…”

“…The pro-employee and, many argue, pro-union policies of the Obama administration have arguably made matters worse, if not convincing employees to sue or obstruct their employers, at least showing them how it’s accomplished…”

 

The Department of Labor, for example, citing the difficulty the average employee encounters in navigating the legal system, has said it will now provide wage/hour claimants who had filed cases with the agency but whose claims would not be heard (including those whose claims lacked merit) with a list of local attorneys who, as a DOL official announced, “may be able to help.” 

The National Labor Relations Board, its regulatory and judicial reach muted during the Bush administration, is an agency reborn, replete with pro-union appointees. In mid-December 2010, the Board announced a proposed rule that would require employers to place on employee bulletin boards a poster notifying employees of their right to unionize. Employers, particularly those in the hospitality and other service industries staffed predominantly by minimum wage employees, are understandably likely to object. Meanwhile, unions won two-thirds of all conclusive elections conducted in 2009, the most recent year surveyed, according to the NLRB’s 2009 annual report.

  Vanquishing the curse of litigation is no easy task. Labor and employment lawyers long have argued that the only effective way is to keep it from happening—to keep the genie in the bottle. How? The most practical prophylactic is a combination of strong, compassionate leadership (the opposite of what destructive leaders peddle) and an equally strong, dialed-in HR team who fairly administer policies that recognize an employee’s intrinsic value and reinforce the organization’s unequivocal support for fair treatment.

For more: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/4679/Two-big-HR-challenges-in-2011

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