Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Hotel Management Should Use Employment Contracts Which Are "At Will", Do Not Discriminate And Define Scope Of Employment; Comprehensive Insurance Should Be In Place At All Times

Hotel Management and owners should set up uniform employment contracts, which:

• Do not discriminate against people based on any of the protected classes as defined by federal or state law;
• Define the scope of the employment;
• Say if the employment is for a term or “at will”;
• Assign the pre-corporate formation intellectual property to the company;
• Assign all subsequently created intellectual property to the company; and
• Protect the corporate intellectual property from disclosure.

The last two categories of protecting intellectual property of the company can be accomplished by drafting non-disclosure agreements, and Proprietary Invention Assignment Agreements.

Insurance – Getting insurance for your company is a bet worth taking, given the potential unpleasant surprises of not being prepared. Again, your needs will vary depending on your company, but among the standard offerings are:

• Comprehensive General Liability Policies (“CGL”) – A CGL policy is usually geared towards protecting a company from personal injury;
• Directors and Officers (“D&O”) Insurance – D&O insurance may cover the wrongful acts of the officers and directors of a company;
• Advertising Injury Insurance – Insurance that covers defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement and other intellectual property injuries. (The advertising injury is usually a part of a larger policy, like a CGL, and not a policy onto itself.); and
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance (“EPLI”) – The EPLI is a specialized insurance policy protecting companies against employment lawsuits.

For more:  http://venturebeat.com/2011/06/27/4-legal-pitfalls-startup-owners-must-face/