Category Archives: Hotel Employees

by | February 6, 2015 · 9:03 am

Hospitality Industry Conference Update: “2015 Hospitality Law Conference”

The speakers, panelists, roundtable hosts, and facilitators of the 2015 Hospitality Law Conference represent the full spectrum of key roles in the hospitality industry:hlc2015 Private attorneys, hotel and restaurant corporate counsel, risk managers,finance executives, real estate developers, human resources managers, loss prevention managers, insurance brokers, and hotel and restaurant owners, managers, and operators

Hospitality Insurance and Loss Prevention Summit: The Petra Risk Solutions Hospitality Insurance and Loss Prevention Summit converges insurance, risk, LP, legal and finance to break down the silos of these functional areas. As we do each year, we begin with the top claims that have occurred over the last twelve months and the best practices to prevent them from occurring at your hotel or restaurant. As Worker Compensation Claims are becoming more of a challenge for the industry, we will take a deeper dive into best practices for prevention, claims handling and back to work policies.

For more: http://bit.ly/1zX3RBh

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by | February 4, 2015 · 10:26 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Work Comp Control Can Prevent Employees from Early Check-Out”

We recently read an account of a 48-year-old female who had two complete knee replacements and got hired as a housekeeper.backinjuries-620x330 Within the first three months, she injured her bad knee, and the cost of her workers’ comp claim will be in the tens of thousands of dollars. If this employee had received a pre-placement screening prior to her hiring, the doctor may have recommended her for a different position

According to a recent study by the National Institute of Health (NIH), hotel workers have higher rates of occupational injury and illness compared with workers in other service industries, particularly in the area of musculoskeletal disorders. So is it any wonder why so many hotel employers are throwing up their arms in surrender every time they see their workers’ compensation premiums soar out of control? Many employers treat those premiums with a “there’s nothing I can do about it” mentality when there actually is something that can be done.

The starting point is always your experience mod, or the numbers that dictate what you will pay in premiums, based on your industry. Fifty percent of all experience modifiers are incorrect, and 80 percent of all experience modifiers are mismanaged. You need to understand the importance of managing and reducing your experience modifier—it’s not just a number. Taking a passive or nonchalant attitude can cost you plenty. And this can happen in a number of ways: misclassifications, incorrect payroll audits, recovery at work programs that are weak or in some cases non-existent, and an overall lack of an established safety culture.

For more: http://bit.ly/16olgqv

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by | February 3, 2015 · 9:09 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: “Will Workers’ Comp Pay For Medical Pot For Back Pain?”

A workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) found Dr. Reeve didn’t prescribe medical marijuana and concluded that the pot program wasn’t reasonable and necessary medical care as required by workers’ compmedicalmarijuana…the appeals court had found the certification required under the Compassionate Use Act by a person licensed in New Mexico to prescribe and administer controlled substances is the functional equivalent of a prescription.

In a state where medical marijuana is legal, a recent court decision has reinforced a previous one regarding pot prescriptions under workers’ comp. 

Miguel Maez suffered injuries to his lumbar spine in February and March 2011 while working for Riley Industrial in New Mexico.

Maez received temporary disability benefits under workers’ comp. Dr. Anthony Reeve treated him for back pain starting in June 2011 and prescribed medication for pain management. He also referred Maez to another doctor for spinal injections.

During a test required for pain management patients, Maez tested positive for marijuana. Dr. Reeve told Maez that if he was going to continue to take marijuana, he needed to have a license for Dr. Reeve to continue administering other narcotics.

For more: http://bit.ly/1BSqcfS

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by | January 13, 2015 · 9:40 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “New Year, New Challenges: What Hospitality Employers Need to Know”

As state and federal budget cuts tend to wane, the Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to step up enforcement against hospitality employers in the coming year. restaurant workerBecause the DOL considers the hospitality industry as a “fissured” industry, owners, franchisors, franchisees and management companies should be prepared to deal with inquiries, particularly in the areas of tipped employees and the misclassification of employees.

According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hospitality sector added 321,000 additional jobs in 2014. With all those new employees, as well as the continued addition of jobs we expect to see in coming year, here are our top predictions for labor law issues that will play a vital role in the hospitality industry in 2015.

For more: http://bit.ly/17E9sRJ

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by | January 12, 2015 · 9:16 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Sometimes It’s OK to Break the Rules”

Training helps, but the real issue is employee selection and retention. It’s important to hire people with a deep desire to serve, even if that means breaking the rules once in awhile. On the other side of the coin,Happy travelers GMs and department heads must have the smarts and the empathy to know when to applaud and reward a rule-breaking employee and when to coach a worker who might have stepped over the boundaries of acceptable empowerment

One of my favorite guilty-pleasure movies is “That Thing You Do,” a Tom Hanks-directed tale of the rise and fall of a one-hit-wonder singing group in the 1960s. In one scene, the band arrives in Hollywood to appear in a movie, and as they emerge from a cab in front of the since-closed-and-demolished Ambassador Hotel, the doorman greets them.

“Hi, my name is Lamarr, and this is my hotel,” he tells the new guests.

It was a throwaway line in a confection of a movie, but it demonstrates the important principal of empowerment that remains highly relevant in the hotel industry.

For more: http://bit.ly/1BUnf1J

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by | January 9, 2015 · 8:06 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Front Desk Best Practices”

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Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Front Desk Best Practices’. 

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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by | December 23, 2014 · 9:33 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Due Diligence – Standard Operating Procedures: Don’t Play Russian Roulette with Your Business”

By now you should understand how critical it is to have policies and procedures in place. Remember that it’s not enough to just have the SOPs and SSOPs documented in writing. It is imperative that you monitor compliance on a routine basis.due diligence It also requires timely updates; yearly should be sufficient. Once your policies and procedures have been established, it is important to keep your staff informed of any changes or updates as they occur

In order for a restaurant to run smoothly and deliver excellence on a consistent basis, Standard Operating Procedures (“SOPs”) and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (“SSOPs”) are an integral part of the business. No matter whether you’re a corporate chain or an independent owner/operator, it behooves you to take a moment to think about your SOPs and SSOPs. You have them, of course, don’t you? Or are they only in your head and it takes a visit to Total Recall in order to pluck them from your brain? Are they written policies or are they handed down verbally from person to person? Or will it take a lawsuit in order for you to address your policies and procedures?

For more: http://bit.ly/1vk9WRZ

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by | December 19, 2014 · 8:56 am

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

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by | December 17, 2014 · 9:20 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Industry Groups Sue Over L.A.’s Minimum Wage for Hotel Workers”

The two industry groups are seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the hotel wage law, which was approved in September. The measure is set to go into effect in July for hotels with at least 300 rooms and expand a year later to hotels with at least 150 roomsla minimum wage…backers of the measure said it would prevent hotel workers from having to take on second jobs that keep them from seeing their families. They also argued that the hotels in Los Angeles have benefited from the city’s efforts at boosting the tourism industry.

Two hotel industry groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new Los Angeles law that requires a higher minimum wage at the city’s larger hotels.

The lawsuit from the American Hotel and Lodging Assn. and the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. contends that the City Council’s decision to impose a $15.37 per hour minimum wage is preempted by federal labor law and therefore unenforceable.

The two groups also say the city is interfering with labor relations and union organizing at its larger hotels. And they voiced fears that L.A.’s ordinance could be replicated elsewhere in the country.

For more: http://lat.ms/13aZQeG

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by | December 15, 2014 · 9:23 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Hotel Housekeepers Say ‘Green’ Program Eliminates Jobs”

Chavez said housekeepers have been reprimanded for not cleaning rooms fast enough and some have resorted to working through breaks to avoid warnings. green-hotelsStill, she said, there are days when she looks at the clock at 2 p.m. and realizes she won’t finish on time. By comparison, before the program started, she could clean up to 20 rooms in a day because some rooms just needed a light touch.

A program that encourages hotel guests to decline housekeeping to conserve water and electricity sounds like a noble idea.

But hotel housekeepers say the program is killing their jobs, their legs and their backs as those workers still employed say they have to work harder because the rooms tend to be dirtier.

Fabiola Rivera, 31, said her managers expect her to clean rooms left unkempt for as many as three days at a pace of 16 rooms per day in an eight-hour shift, the same quota as if the rooms were tidied daily. And she also has to run around delivering fresh towels to guests in the program who cheat a bit.

For more: http://trib.in/1waj7sz

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