Author Archives: Ida
Hospitality Industry Pool Safety: “The Model Aquatic Health Code: Making Swimming Healthy And Safe”
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Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Ohio Hotel Sued For “Negligence” By Family Of Security Guard Stabbed To Death By Homeless Man; “Unlocked Outside Stairwell Doors” Posed Safety Threat
“…(the suit claims) the hotel was obligated to provide a safe place for its employees to work, (but) the outside stairwell doors were left unlocked as 
part of hotel policy…the suit claims the hotel’s employees routinely left exit doors to the stairwells unlocked from the outside, and the family’s attorney said this allowed the homeless (man) to come inside and sleep…the safety threat posed by the unlocked doors was foreseeable and should have been prevented…”
The family of a security guard who was stabbed to death while on duty has sued the hotel where he worked. Richard Campbell was stabbed to death on his 58th birthday, Dec. 7, when he confronted a man in the stairwell of the Hilton Netherland Plaza in downtown Cincinnati. Joseph Tucker pleaded guilty last month to one count of murder in the slaying and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Tucker said he was high on marijuana and drunk at the time, and he said he’s not sure why he stabbed Campbell. Police said Tucker was in the process of stealing something when the security guard confronted him. Campbell’s brothers and sisters filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, claiming the hotel was negligent.
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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance
Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Restaurant Sued For $1 Million By Customer Who “Slipped And Fell On Peanut Shells” On The Floor; Claims “Unreasonably Dangerous Condition”
“…The lawsuit states that (the plaintiff) slipped and fell in the restaurant on March 19, and that the restaurant and employees knew or should 
have known that the peanut shells on the floor created an unreasonably dangerous condition…(she) is suing for damages for physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity and court costs…”
A Harlingen woman is seeking $1 million after she claims she slipped and fell on peanut shells on the floor of a local restaurant. Amelia Tijerina has filed a civil lawsuit arguing that Texas RoadHouse Inc. is responsible for the peanut shells on the restaurant’s floor. RoadHouse has denied Tijerina’s allegations and demands proof.
Tijerina sued the restaurant in state district court, but Texas RoadHouse moved the lawsuit to federal court, according to court records.
She also maintains that the restaurant or employees should have warned her about the peanut shells or should have removed them.
She is presented by Attorney Salvador Garcia and Jorge A. Green with The Green Law Firm of Brownsville.
Attorneys Karl W. Koen, Robert J. Collins, and Rachel R. Vulpitta of Gauntt, Earl, Binney & Koen, LLP of Dallas, who represent Texas RoadHouse, contend that it was Tijerina’s own actions or omissions that caused or contributed to her injury.
For more:Â http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/article_3296dd56-f669-11e2-a706-0019bb30f31a.html
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Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Vermont Motel Employee Charged With “Felony Embezzlement” After Stealing $220,000; Cashed Fraudulent Checks In Another Town To Escape Attention
“…(the defendant) is accused of using her position as the part-time bookkeeper for the Shire Riverview motel to divert over $220,000 to her personal use, primarily through a series of checks that were made out to herself and through electronic payments of her own household bills 
directly from the inn’s bank account…Although the Inn had a computerized QuickBooks system that the DiCarlos said they reviewed periodically, Dorothy DiCarlo wrote that Smith appeared to have defeated it by entering “phony bills†from companies that the inn routinely did business with, paying them, and then at the last moment changing the business name on the payee line of the checks to her name. DiCarlo said Smith appeared to have cashed all of the fraudulent checks using a night deposit box at a branch of their bank in another town so as not to bring the unusual checks to the attention of the Woodstock branch which she said might have been quicker to catch the discrepancies…”
A Woodstock woman entered an innocent plea to a single felony count of embezzlement Thursday afternoon before being released from the Windsor County Courthouse in downtown White River Junction on personal recognizance conditions.
Shire Riverview owner Dorothy DiCarlo said she never suspected Smith and instead stumbled on the alleged thefts after she returned from vacation in late March and she was surprised by how low the balances were in the Inn’s operational account. DiCarlo wrote in her statement to police that she started flipping through checks to see what was going on and the very first one she happened to look at was made out directly to Smith for $2,400.
DiCarlo said when she asked Smith why she would need to write a check to herself Smith would not answer her directly and instead kept saying, “I will take responsibility for that check.â€
Concerned, DiCarlo said she and her husband Vincent began looking through their business records that evening and quickly found over $50,000 in suspect payments to Smith and to her personal creditors for things like her home cable, propane, and phone bills that appeared to have been paid electronically from the Inn’s bank accounts.
For more:Â http://www.thevermontstandard.com/2013/07/motels-ex-bookkeeper-pleads-not-guilty-to-embezzlement/
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Filed under Crime, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft
P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Globally Harmonized System (GHS)†By Petra Risk Solutions’ Director Of Risk Management Todd Seiders, CLSD
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/68627105]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Director Of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, CLSD , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Update – ‘Globally Harmonized System (GHS)’.
P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.
For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: North Carolina Hotel Group Settles “Religious Discrimination” Lawsuit With EEOC For $45,000; Refused To Provide “Religious Accomodation” To Employee
“…The EEOC’s suit charged that the hotel group refused to provide Claudia Neal, a Seventh-Day Adventist, with a religious accommodation of not having to work on her Sabbath, which is from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. Neal began 
working at the hotel in May 2009. Initially, Neal’s request not to work on her Sabbath was honored. However, a change in management occurred in October 2010, and in November of that year, the hotel group refused to provide her with a religious accommodation, and fired her…”
A hotel group which owns and operates the Comfort Inn Oceanfront South in Nags Head, N.C., has agreed to pay $45,000 and provide substantial additional relief to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on religion. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern Division (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Landmark Hotel Group, LLC d/b/a Comfort Inn Oceanfront South; Dare Hospitality, LLC d/b/a Comfort Inn Oceanfront South; Jain and Associates, LP d/b/a Comfort Inn Oceanfront South; and JRS Partners, LLC d/b/a Comfort Inn Oceanfront South; Civil Action No. 4:12-cv-158) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to providing monetary relief to Neal, the hotel group will implement policies designed to prevent religious discrimination and conduct training on anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws. The hotel group will also provide reports to the EEOC regarding future requests for religious accommodation.
“Employers need to understand their obligation to balance the conduct of their business with employees’ needs and rights to practice their religion,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office. “Where there is minimal impact on the business, those religious needs must be accommodated. No person should ever be forced to choose between her religion and her job.”
For more:Â http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/7-23-13.cfm
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Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Training
Hospitality Industry Safety Issues: Private-Sector Workplace Injuries Fall 30% From 2003-2011; Workers’ Compensation Claims And Premiums Decline As Safety Progams Pay Off
“…For private-sector employers, the number of injuries involving missed work days, job restrictions or transfers to different chores dropped to 1.8 per 100 full-time workers in 2011 from 2.6 in 2003…safety experts say OSHA crackdowns and more corporate focus on 
reducing hazards helped cut the injury rate. Also, legislation in many states has made it harder to qualify for workers’ compensation, which has reduced the number of claims…a benefit of the decline is that the average cost of workers’ compensation per $100 of payroll fell to $1.79 last year from $2.67 in 1994…”
About 100 federal and state court cases involving retaliation for workers’ compensation claims were decided last year, roughly double the number a decade before, estimates Lex Larson, president of Employment Law Research Inc. Some lawyers attribute the increase to growing awareness among workers that they can seek redress in court.
While employers say the decline in injuries shows that safety programs are paying off, unions and plaintiffs’ lawyers counter that companies sometimes discourage workers from speaking up.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is taking a tougher line with employers and says too many injuries go unreported. The agency last year reminded employers that federal law bars them from retaliating against employees for reporting injuries. It also warned employers against offering bonuses or prizes for meeting safety goals if those incentives deter workers from reporting injuries.
For more:Â http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323664204578610133657300940.html
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Filed under Claims, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Nebraska Restaurant Fire Starts Near Cooler’s Condenser, Spreading Upstairs; Heavy Heat Results In Complete Loss
“…the blaze most likely started near the cooler’s condenser which was under repair and then spread to the NAPA auto store next door, only causing smoke damage while resulting in a complete loss for the restaurant…when the cook went to open the door, flames shot out…the whole 
entire upstairs was probably involved in heavy fire. Made entry and attempted to extinguish that and due to extreme heat (the firefighters) were driven out and changed to a defensive mode…”
An iconic family restaurant in McCook destroyed by fire late Saturday evening must now decide how to move forward. Fullers Restaurant was more than a business, it was a part of the community and something everyone will miss.
“Tried to put it out with a hand extinguisher and then called the fire department and by the time they got set up and everything it was a little later,” said Val Fuller, the owner.
Fuller’s Restaurant employees recount the scene that led to the building’s evacuation late Saturday evening when the McCook Fire Department responded to a call for a structure fire shortly after 8:40 PM. “All of the employees, all of the customers were out and across the alley from the structure,” said Chief Marc Harpham with the McCook Fire Department.
“It was our supper hour, so we had a fairly decent crowd in there and we told them what the situation was and they left,” said Thayer.
Now, owner Fuller must decide how to move forward after losing the restaurant his parents started in 1946.
For more:Â http://www.knopnews2.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=8332:more-than-a-restaurant&Itemid=105
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Filed under Claims, Fire, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Structural Damage
Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: “Smarphone Payment Apps” Allow Customers To Pay For Food And Services With Phones Or Mobile Wallets
The Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group forecasts that within five years half of smartphone owners will prefer to pay for their gas, food, 
gadgets and other consumer goods with phones and mobile wallets…By one count, perhaps 280 digital wallets or more have sprung up or are in development around those various technologies. Some retailers, notably Starbucks, have built their own apps for mobile payments.
Mark Logan ordered lunch at Mildred’s Coffeehouse & Bistro in the Crossroads Arts District and stepped to the register to pay. No cash. No check. No plastic. Logan paid with his smartphone. He had previously loaded it with his debit card information, using an app called Square Wallet, and snapped his own picture. To make the payment, Square Wallet sent Logan’s picture to the iPad that Mildred’s uses for a register. The iPad tied his tab to his photo.
The barista, seeing Logan, tapped his photo from among several customers on the screen and told Logan the payment was going through. A second tap — technology took care of the rest.
AÂ recent survey of smartphone users found that half had never heard of the idea of a digital wallet, let alone downloaded and used one.
And few stores or restaurants take them.
All the same, you may be using one soon. Money is making a dash from pockets to smartphones thanks to digital wallets like Lemon, Isis, LevelUp and others.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/20/4357393/digital-wallet-apps-unfold-in.html#storylink=cpy
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Filed under Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology
Hospitality Industry Technology Risks: Hotel Wi-Fi And LAN Networks Remain Vulnerable To Being Hijacked
“Whether it’s paid or not, whether there’s a password involved or not, nearly all of them are completely unsecure,†he said. “The reason that Wi-
Fi hotspots put passwords on their Wi-Fi is not to protect the individual, but rather to limit usage…LAN technology evolved years ago for use within organizations where security was never thought to be a major issue. The result is that most of today’s LANs can be hijacked, and all communication can be easily captured and stored on an unseen laptop.â€
Private Communications Corp., a Connecticut-based digital-security company, reports that more than half of the 24 million Wi-Fi networks thought to exist worldwide are unencrypted, meaning they’re effectively open to anyone within radio range.
That statistic is particularly alarming when juxtaposed with another from the same company: In the United States, an estimated 43 million people use Wi-Fi hotspots to conduct personal or professional business.
Lawson said travelers should be wary even when connecting directly to a local area network, or LAN, offered by, say, a big-name hotel.
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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology
