Category Archives: Labor Issues

by | January 30, 2013 · 7:59 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Michigan Restaurant Group Settles “Class-Action Lawsuit” Alleging “False Advertising Of Halal Food Items”

“…(plaintiff’s) attorney alleged that after the restaurant ran out of Halal chicken, it sold non-Halal chicken…an investigation found that the restaurant had sold non-Halal food masquerading as Halal food “on Hospitality Industry Class Action Lawsuitsmany occasions.” The two filed a class action lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court in November 2011…”

McDonald’s and one of its franchises agreed to a $700,000 settlement in a lawsuit claiming that it falsely advertised some of its food as halal. Ahmed Ahmed, a Muslim man from Dearborn Heights, alleged that the chicken sandwich he ordered from the McDonald’s on Ford Road in Dearborn in September 2011 did not meet Islamic dietary standards, despite the franchise’s advertisements that it sells Halal chicken.

McDonald’s and Finley’s Management Co, which owns the franchise, agreed on January 18 to pay the $700,000, which will be split between Ahmed, his lawyers, a health clinic in Detroit and the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. McDonald’s and Finley’s deny any liability, but say the settlement is in their best interest.

For more:  http://michiganjournal.org/2013/01/29/dearborn-mcdonalds-makes-settlement-in-non-halal-chicken-sandwich-lawsuit/

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by | January 26, 2013 · 7:57 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Pennsylvania Restaurant Manager Charged With Stealing Over $160,000; Made “Unauthorized ATM Withdrawals, Credit Card Purchases”

“…a certified public accountant’s review found that (he) made a string of unauthorized ATM withdrawals, unauthorized credit card purchases and unauthorized check card purchases totaling $163,601 from the employee theftbusiness accounts of Cosmopolitan…in addition to dinner cruises and visits to a strip club, (he) allegedly spent the money on household items at a retail store…”

A former general manager of Cosmopolitan in Allentown allegedly stole $163,601 from the restaurant and spent it on things like dinner cruises and visits to a strip club.

Cosmopolitan opened in October 2010. Fortunato was hired in September 2010 and promoted to general manager about a month later, District Attorney Jim Martin’s office said today in announcing the charges.

Fortunato’s responsibilities included overseeing the daily operations of the restaurant, handling employee payroll, paying bills to suppliers and collecting receipts for the business.

Fortunato also was given check-signing authority for the restaurant’s various bank accounts and ATM/debit card account at Wells Fargo Bank, a Visa card, an American Express account and access to cash receipts at the restaurant, Martin’s office said.

His responsibilities included using any of the accounts, but only for operations of the restaurant, according to the district attorney’s office.

Last June, Cosmopolitan co-owner Myron Haydt was reviewing the restaurant’s financial records and found a series of suspected unauthorized purchases by Fortunato, according to the statement.

For more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2013/01/former_manager_of_allentowns_c.html

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

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by | January 24, 2013 · 8:28 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Alabama Hotel Sued By Guest Trapped In Elevator; “Sustained Injuries During Escape From Broken Machinery”

“…(plaintiff) and several others became entrapped in the hotel’s elevator…(she claimed) the hotel didn’t respond to the emergency call which resulted in two male guests in the elevator prying the door open and Hotel Elevator Accidentcreating an opening to escape…hotel administrators pulled King by the legs through the opening resulting in her falling and suffering physical injuries…”

An Alabama resident is suing a local Marriott-owned hotel after allegedly being trapped in an elevator and sustaining injuries during an escape from the broken machinery. Maureen A. King filed a lawsuit against Marriott Hotel Services, Inc., Renaissance Hotel Management Company, LLC, Renaissance Hotel Operating Company, Sodexo, Inc. and John Doe in the Orleans Parish Central District Court.

The defendant is accused of failing to respond to the emergency elevator alarm, pulling petitioner from the elevator and causing her to fall and failing to seek emergency assistance.

An unspecified amount is sought for past medical expenses, future medical expenses, past lost wages, future lost wages, pain and suffering and mental anguish.

For more:  http://louisianarecord.com/news/248516-renaissance-pere-marquette-hotel-blamed-for-injuries-sustained-by-guest-stuck-in-elevator

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by | January 23, 2013 · 8:11 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Restaurant Group Settles EEOC “Religious Discrimination Lawsuit” For $25,000; Female Employee Prevented From Wearing Skirt To Work

“…Fries Restaurant Management has  agreed to pay Ashanti McShan $20,000 for “mental anguish and non-wage damages” and an additional $5,000 in lost wages…The restaurant management company also EEOCagreed to post its policy against religious discrimination on employee bulletin boards in every Burger King it operates in the state of Texas…”

A Burger King in Texas has agreed to pay $25,000 to a Pentecostal womanwho wore a skirt to work, court documents state. The payment settles a lawsuit filed in August by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Fries Restaurant Management, LLC, which owns and operates the Burger King in Grand Prairie, Texas. The store allegedly asked a teenage woman to leave work after she arrived in a skirt. The EEOC’s lawsuit against Fries alleged religious discrimination, which is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964.

In addition, it vowed to hold trainings for managers on federal anti-discrimination laws for the next two years, according to the documents.

McShan was a senior in high school when she came to work at the Burger King wearing a skirt instead of the black pants that are part of Burger King’s uniform.

In August 2010, McShan asked to wear a skirt instead of the restaurant’s uniform pants. Burger King “assured her that she could wear a skirt to work,” the filing says.

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by | January 20, 2013 · 8:52 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Hotels And Restaurants Providing “Paid Sick Leave” Benefits Reduce Employee Illnesses, Work-Related Injuries And Turnover According To Latest Studies

“…it (is) better for an employee to call in sick, take care of their illness and not contaminate the other staff. The number of employees struggling to work while sick was drastically reduced. The H1N1 virus in 2009 Paid Sick Leave In Hospitality Industrydemonstrated the value of keeping sick employees out of the workplace…And best of all, according to the Centers for Disease Control, workers with paid sick leave are 28 percent less likely to suffer work-related injuries. People in construction, restaurants or hospitals who do physically demanding jobs are more likely to injure themselves (or someone else) if they are working while sick, weak and fatigued…”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that 39 percent of people employed in private industry do not have paid sick leave as a benefit.

And 81 percent of service workers earning $10.50 or less have no paid sick leave. These are the people behind the cash register, serving you food in a restaurant, cleaning offices and hotel rooms and handing you your ticket when you go out to see a movie.

The information comes from studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Women’s Institute of Policy Research study of San Francisco’s paid sick leave ordinance. Before San Francisco enacted its ordinance in 2007, the restaurants and mom-and-pop businesses fought hard to prevent it. They predicted the cost of paid sick days would put them out of business. In 2011 a detailed study was done and employers are happy their fears were not realized. There was no discernible increase in payroll costs.

Turnover decreased because employees didn’t need to change jobs to get paid sick leave. The city ordinance requiring paid sick leave leveled the field for all employers, and good employees stayed in place longer.

For more:  http://union-bulletin.com/news/2013/jan/19/sick-pay-benefits-employers-bottom-lines/

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Filed under Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

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by | January 19, 2013 · 8:17 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Wisconsin Restaurant Settles EEOC “Sexual Harassment And Retaliation Lawsuit” For $41,000; Companies Must Take “Immediate And Effective Action To Stop It”

“The Supreme Court has held that when an employer learns of sexual harassment, it must take immediate and effective action to stop it…Employers who don’t protect their workers should know that the federal EEOCgovernment will enforce the national policy against sexual abuse in the workplace…retaliation complaints have been the fastest-increasing type of complaint filed with the EEOC over the past 10 years…”

A Merrill, Wis., restaurant will pay $41,000 and furnish other relief  under a consent decree entered by the federal court in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit (EEOC and Sherry L. Brown v. Merrill Pine Ridge LLC, et al., No. 3:11-cv-589), one of the cooks at New Pine Ridge restaurant, Shahi N. Selmani, created a sexually hostile work environment when he repeatedly made crude remarks to waitresses and grabbed their breasts.  The EEOC alleged that, despite the women’s complaints, restaurant owner Qemal Alimi did not stop Selmani’s harassment and instead fired some of the waitresses in retaliation for their complaints.

Sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The EEOC filed suit in August 2011 after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Selmani did not stop working for the restaurant until months after criminal charges were filed against him.  Eventually he pled no contest on Dec. 9, 2010 in Lincoln County Circuit Court (Case Nos. 2009CM25 and 2009CM101) to having committed Class A misdemeanor battery against three waitresses.  Charges of fourth-degree sexual assault, bail jumping and disorderly conduct were dismissed but “read into” the record of his conviction.

For more:  http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-17-13a.cfm

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by | January 18, 2013 · 8:53 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Arkansas Hotel General Manager Arrested For “Promoting Prostitution At Property”; Rented Rooms Hourly To Accommodate Sex For Money

“…a serious crime because it’s such a spider web into other facets, robberies stem from this, assaults, rapes…Police say the activity not only violates state statutes regarding prostitution but violates the city’s Hotel Prostitution ringssexually oriented business ordinances…”

The general manager and employee of a Fort Smith hotel were arrested Tuesday (Jan. 15) for promoting prostitution in the business, according to police. A six-month investigation revealed general manager John Lee Rohlin, 42, and his employee Jonathan Richard Bean, 28, regularly rented rooms at the Season’s Inn on south Waldron to individuals by the hour to accommodate men and women engaging in sex for money, a police report states.

The arrests stunned guests Thursday afternoon. “It will be scary because it’s something illegal you know,” said Monsour Alhussain, a hotel guest. A confidential informant tipped off the police about the prostitution in June, according to police.

Both men were booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center and released on $1,500 bonds.

For more:  http://5newsonline.com/2013/01/17/hotel-employees-arrested-on-promoting-prostitution-charge/

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by | January 12, 2013 · 7:49 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Restaurant Franchisee Settles EEOC “Sexual Harassment And Retaliation Lawsuit” For $2.5 Million; Managers Made Working Conditions Intolerable

The EEOC’s suit charged that Carrols subjected a class of women – including many teenagers – to egregious sexual harassment at Burger King locations throughout the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. EEOC alleged that the harassment, which ranged from obscene comments, jokes, and propositions to unwanted touching, EEOCexposure of genitalia, strip searches, stalking, and even rape, was perpetrated by managers in the majority of cases. According to the EEOC, Carrols also retaliated against some of the women by cutting their hours, manufacturing discipline against them, and even firing them, while it forced more women to quit because the harassment made their working conditions intolerable.

Carrols Corporation, the world’s largest Burger King franchisee, will pay $2.5 million and take significant remedial steps to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The lawsuit alleged discrimination against 89 female employees around the country, many of whom were teenagers when they worked for Carrols.

Sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 98-cv-01772 FWS/TWD in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.

Under the terms of the publicly-filed consent decree resolving the case, Carrols will pay $2.5 million in compensatory damages and lost wages to the 89 victims. It also will implement a number of measures to increase employees’ awareness of Carrols’ anti-harassment policies and to improve Carrols’ response to complaints brought forward under those policies. Those measures include enhanced training for Carrols’ managers in preventing and responding to harassment; improved mechanisms for tracking harassment complaints; notices posted in all domestic Carrols Burger King locations informing employees about the lawsuit’s resolution and their rights under federal anti-discrimination laws; and an injunction prohibiting further harassment and retaliation.

For more: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-9-13.cfm

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by | January 9, 2013 · 7:34 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Maryland Restaurant Settles EEOC “Disability Discrimination And Retaliation Lawsuit” For $47,000; Deaf Prep Cook Was Harassed And Mocked

“…(the plaintiff) was harassed by a former management official because of his disability, through mockery (e.g. being called “vermin” instead of “Vernon”), and through threatening physical conduct…(his) prep cook EEOCduties were removed and that he was transferred to a dishwasher position because of his disability….In addition to the $47,814 in monetary relief to Davis, the two-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit enjoins McCormick and Schmick’s from violating the ADA, including with regard to harassment and retaliation…”

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, Inc. will pay $47,814 and provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, Vernon Davis, who has been deaf since childhood and uses American Sign Language and reads lips to communicate, satisfactorily performed his duties as a prep cook at the McCormick & Schmick’s National Harbor restaurant in Oxon Hill, Md. Prior to being hired by the defendant, Davis had obtained culinary training and had worked in several other restaurants.

After Davis and others complained about Davis being subjected to disability discrimination, the restaurant demoted him to a janitorial-type position and cut his hours because of his disability and in retaliation for the complaints, the EEOC charged. Four months later, McCormick and Schmick’s unlawfully fired Davis because of his disability and in retaliation for his complaints, the EEOC alleged in its lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division, Civil Action No. 8:11-cv-02695.

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by | January 2, 2013 · 8:35 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over “Fixed Percentage Withholdings” From Room Service Tips; Violation Of California Labor Law

“…(plaintiff) claims the hotel pools the tips of its room service delivery staff and withholds a fixed percentage of them…the withholdings, which have been standard policy since at least 2003, violate California labor Hospitality Industry Class Action Lawsuitslaw…he seeks compensatory and exemplary damages for unfair competition, conversion and money had and received…”

Hyatt Hotels and the Manchester Financial Group steal workers’ tips to cover “glass breakage,” whether employees have broken any glasses or not, a class action claims in Superior Court. Former room service delivery worker Leonardo Acosta sued Host Hotels and Resorts, Manchester Financial Group and Hyatt Hotels Corp.

“Hyatt and the other defendants maintain that the monies are withheld pursuant to Hyatt’s policy of reimbursing themselves for purported ‘glass breakage.’ The same percentage of gratuities was withheld from all room service delivery workers in plaintiffs’ tip pool, without regard to the amount of breakage, if any, during any pay period.

The same percentage of gratuities was withheld from all room service delivery workers in plaintiffs’ tip pool, without regard to whether any purported breakage was caused by any dishonest or willful act, or by the gross negligence of any employee … [and] without regard to the individual, if any, responsible for the alleged breakage,” Acosta claims.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/01/02/53536.htm

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