Category Archives: Labor Issues

by | May 17, 2012 · 6:38 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Nevada Hotel Sued For "Pregnancy Discrimination" By Room Service Sales Employee; Additional "Class-Action" Allegations For Unpaid Wages

In the same filing to sue the hotel for unspecified damages for pregnancy discrimination, Megia also made class-action allegations for unpaid wages on behalf of the hotel’s employees.

“…employees were not permitted to wear their uniforms outside work and had to pick up and drop off their uniforms before and after their shifts, often leading to additional overtime for which they were not paid, the suit claimed…”

Melodee Megia, a former employee at The Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, claims she was told she was fired from her job for saying “bye bye” on the telephone instead of “goodbye” while eight-months pregnant.

She has filed a lawsuit against the hotel for pregnancy discrimination and a class-action suit for workers’ wages, saying employees were not paid for the time they had to wait for and change into their uniforms on a daily basis.

Megia worked at the hotel from November 2010 until September 2011, when she said she was fired “based on her pregnancy,” according to court papers filed with the Clark County District Court in Nevada last week.

Megia was a “room service sales” employee answering the telephone when hotel guests called for room service, occasionally assisting in room delivery, her lawyers said.

For more:  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/fired-las-vegas-hotel-worker-sues-pregnancy-discrimination/story?id=16361237

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by | May 16, 2012 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Woman Sues Illinois Hotel Over Bartender's "Sexual Assault"; Convicted Employee Allegedly Obtained Room Key From Front Desk

“…The lawsuit contends Dabrowski on Oct. 27 spiked the woman’s drink with a “date rape” drug. He allegedly obtained the key to her room from the front desk and then sexually assaulted her as she lay unconscious on her bed in the hotel..”

A Naperville man accused in a federal lawsuit of sexually assaulting a female guest of the Hilton Lisle/Naperville hotel has been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of trespassing in the woman’s room.

Jayson D. Dabrowski, a former bartender at the hotel, has been ordered to serve seven days in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program, or SWAP, according to records on file in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton. Dabrowski has also been placed on two years of court supervision, records indicated.

The woman, a resident of Virginia, is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. Her lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for at least a year.

For more: http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/12554670-418/man-accused-of-lisle-hotel-sex-attack-found-guilty-of-trespassing.html

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by | May 14, 2012 · 6:16 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: North Carolina Hotel Employee Arrested For "Embezzling" More Than $16,000 From Hotel Deposits And Petty Cash

More than $12,000 came from cash deposits not being made; $2,132 from petty cash and falsified receipts; $1,756 from miscellaneous revenue; and $336 in overdraft fees as a result of deposits not being made.

A 57-year-old woman embezzled more than $16,000 from a Gastonia hotel in about three weeks, according to an arrest warrant. Judy Adaline Steele of Cullowhee in western North Carolina took the money from the Knights Inn at 1400 E. Franklin Blvd. between Dec. 23 and Jan. 11, according to the warrant.

She also occupied two rooms at the hotel, resulting in an additional $3,000 damage, according to the report.

Sri Krupa told police he had withheld Steele’s final two paychecks totaling $1,377 because of the theft. Steele was booked into Gaston County Jail under a $25,000 bond on a charge of embezzlement.

Read more: http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/deposits-71072-gastonia-hotel.html#ixzz1uqvwUS8U

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by | May 13, 2012 · 6:51 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Florida Hotel Nightclub Sued For "Racial Discrimination" When Security Guards Refuse To Allow Four Women Inside

Florida civil rights and criminal law attorney David Kubiliun is representing four South Florida women who claim they were not allowed to attend an upscale party the Arkadia Lounge inside Miami Beach’s famous Fountainebleau Hotel because of their race. Kubiliun says a man claiming to be the club’s promoter sent text messages to the women supporting their racial discrimination claims.

Kubiliun claimed it all began when Liz Lopez, Nancy Pierrot, Katuschca Jubuisson and Kat Bing, who are of African-American and Hispanic heritages, said promoter Rodrick Dudley invited them to the nightclub on Saturday, March 17 to celebrate a birthday. Kubiliun said when the group arrived, the club’s doormen would not allow them to enter.

“One security guard told one of the ladies that he didn’t think they were getting in because they are black and they would have to wait,” said Kubiliun. “The women who were well-dressed professionals said they didn’t see any other African-Americans enter the nightclub the entire time the aggravated group stood by in the lobby.”

For more:  http://www.eurweb.com/2012/05/south-florida-women-claim-racial-discrimination-at-fontainebleau-hotel-nightclub/

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by | May 9, 2012 · 6:28 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Former Conference Meetings Director For "Employment Discrimination"; Woman Claims Termination Due To Cancer Diagnosis

“…(the Texas woman) believes Crowne Plaza Hotel fired her because of insurance, knowing she had more follow-up surgeries required…(she) is now cancer free and has a new job, hopes to collect financial damages for medical bills and mental anguish…”

A Texas grandmother of five says she was wrongfully fired from her job because she got cancer. Now, she’s suing for employment discrimination.

Janet Hustus, 53, was working as the Conference Meetings Director for Crowne Plaza Houston in January 2011 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I was devastated. When you hear those words it is very devastating,” Hustus said. “You have cancer, and you don’t know what to do. You have so many emotions.”

She went to her general manager a few days later to discuss her schedule and surgery dates. Hustus says Mathers assured her the company would work around her schedule and “support her any way possible,” including keeping her job open for her.

For more: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/texas-grandma-fired-cancer/story?id=16304786

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by | April 29, 2012 · 6:53 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Minnesota Restaurant Must "Reinstate" Fired Workers With "Back Pay" According To National Labor Relations Board Ruling

 “…the judge ruled the workers must be reinstated within 14 days and are eligible for back pay — about $10,000 each…”

Six local Jimmy John’s workers fired more than a year ago should get their jobs back, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled last week. The workers were fired after plastering parts of the Twin Cities with fliers claiming the restaurant’s customers were at risk of illness because of a sick-day policy requiring workers to find their own replacement if they were sick.

On Friday the judge ruled the workers must be reinstated within 14 days and are eligible for back pay — about $10,000 each, according to an estimate by Erik Forman, who lost his job at the West End Jimmy John’s store in St. Louis Park, Minn.

The stores’ owners have not yet decided whether to appeal the judge’s ruling.

“It’s a big victory. It’s not unexpected for us — we’ve known for a long time that our posters and our right to speak out about health and safety issues are legally protected,” Forman said. “But we’re glad to see that we’re one step closer to getting back to work and exercise our right to organize.”

In a March 2011 letter to franchise co-owner Rob Mulligan, Jimmy John’s workers called the sick-day policy a risk to the public’s safety, as it required workers to find their own replacement or go unpaid if they didn’t work, creating an incentive to work while ill.

For more: http://www.mndaily.com/2012/04/24/fired-jimmy-john%E2%80%99s-workers-work-again-judge-rules

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by | April 26, 2012 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Federal Lawsuit Alleges Miami Employment Agency Forced Thrity "H-2B Status" Guest Workers To Do Unsanctioned Work As Housekeepers At Florida Hotels

According to the lawsuit, thirty guest workers were brought to Miami by Villanueva, purportedly to work at the W South Beach as housekeepers for $8.28 an hour.

“…(plaintiff) had many of the workers do unsanctioned work for less than minimum wage. He charged the workers “security deposits” ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 Filipino pesos– or $1,200 to $2,350– which they would lose if they quit those jobs. He crowded the workers in housing Florida and New Jersey, “on floors, air mattresses, and in hallways”, according to the suit, and in “beds infested with bedbugs.”

According to a new federal lawsuit, the Filipino worker who changed your sheets at W South Beach Hotel, or served you lunch at posh restaurants and country clubs, may have essentially been an indentured servant. Seventeen Filipino immigrants allege that a ring of Miami-based employment agencies charged them outrageous “security deposits,” forced them to work for less than minimum wage and no overtime, and stashed them in overcrowded housing.

In a statement to Riptide, the hotel’s general manager George Cozonis acknowledged that the W had used Villanueva’s workers in the past: “W South Beach does not currently work with Jose Villanueva’s agency, Lincoln Road Employment Advisory Services, to provide staffing to the hotel or any of its affiliated operators. LREAS was used briefly during the opening period of the hotel, but all ties were severed more than 19 months ago.”

Employers such as the W, The Admiral’s Club country club in Jupiter, and the Kiawah Island Club in South Carolina arranged with Villanueva for the workers to immigrate under H-2B status from 2006 to 2009.

For more:  http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2012/04/miami_employment_agencies_supp.php

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by | April 24, 2012 · 6:32 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Supreme Court Ruling Mandates That State's Hotels And Restaurants Need Only Make Employee "Meal And Rest Periods Available"; Not Required To Ensure "Actually Taken"

The Court makes clear the following: “When someone is … employed … for five hours, an employer is put to a choice: it must (1) afford an off duty meal period; (2) consent to a mutually agreed-upon waiver if one hour or less will end the shift; or (3) obtain written agreement to an on duty meal period if circumstances permit. Failure to do one of these will render the employer liable for premium pay.” Brinker, p. 35.

At issue in Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court was whether California employers must ensure that their employees actually take their meal and rest periods or merely make them available. To the collective relief of California employers, the court found that an employer must only provide meal and rest periods to its employees, leaving the employees free to use the period for whatever purpose they desire. The employer is not obligated to ensure no work is performed during the period.

The Court continues: “[a]n employer’s duty with respect to meal breaks … is an obligation to provide a meal period to its employees. The employer satisfies this obligation if it relieves its employees of all duty, relinquishes control over their activities and permits them a reasonable opportunity to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break, and does not impede or discourage them from doing so.” Brinker, Slip Opinion, p. 36 (emphasis added).

The Court further acknowledged that what will suffice may vary from industry to industry, but held, “the employer is not obligated to police meal breaks and ensure no work thereafter is performed. Bona fide relief from duty and the relinquishing of control satisfies the employer’s obligations, and work by a relieved employee during a meal break does not thereby place the employer in violation of its obligations and create liability for premium pay.” Brinker, p. 36-7 (emphasis added).

For more: http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2012/04/brinker_v_superior_court.html

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by | · 6:32 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Supreme Court Ruling Mandates That State's Hotels And Restaurants Need Only Make Employee "Meal And Rest Periods Available"; Not Required To Ensure "Actually Taken"

The Court makes clear the following: “When someone is … employed … for five hours, an employer is put to a choice: it must (1) afford an off duty meal period; (2) consent to a mutually agreed-upon waiver if one hour or less will end the shift; or (3) obtain written agreement to an on duty meal period if circumstances permit. Failure to do one of these will render the employer liable for premium pay.” Brinker, p. 35.

At issue in Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court was whether California employers must ensure that their employees actually take their meal and rest periods or merely make them available. To the collective relief of California employers, the court found that an employer must only provide meal and rest periods to its employees, leaving the employees free to use the period for whatever purpose they desire. The employer is not obligated to ensure no work is performed during the period.

The Court continues: “[a]n employer’s duty with respect to meal breaks … is an obligation to provide a meal period to its employees. The employer satisfies this obligation if it relieves its employees of all duty, relinquishes control over their activities and permits them a reasonable opportunity to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break, and does not impede or discourage them from doing so.” Brinker, Slip Opinion, p. 36 (emphasis added).

The Court further acknowledged that what will suffice may vary from industry to industry, but held, “the employer is not obligated to police meal breaks and ensure no work thereafter is performed. Bona fide relief from duty and the relinquishing of control satisfies the employer’s obligations, and work by a relieved employee during a meal break does not thereby place the employer in violation of its obligations and create liability for premium pay.” Brinker, p. 36-7 (emphasis added).

For more: http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2012/04/brinker_v_superior_court.html

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by | April 18, 2012 · 6:40 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Colorado Hotel Sued By Woman "Bitten By A Vicious Dog" Owned By Hotel Guest; Written "Pet Care Policies" Not Followed According To Lawsuit

“…The lawsuit claims that employees at The Little Nell hotel, which provided dog-sitting services for Babu, knew the dog had violent tendencies…”

“The Little Nell’s Guide to Petiquette,” a set of written policies governing pet care and behavior at the hotel, required that a problem dog such as Babu either be removed from the premises or have a sitter overseeing it at all times, the lawsuit said, according to the Times. The lawsuit accuses the hotel of failing to follow its policy…”

The Aspen Skiing Co. and a New York socialite couple are defendants in a lawsuit that accuses them of keeping a vicious dog that bit a woman at the Gondola Plaza. Beth Fischer, of Aspen, filed a complaint Monday in Pitkin County District Court saying she has racked up more than $200,000 in medical bills after a black Labrador retriever bit her on Sept. 18, according to the Aspen Times.

She has had multiple surgeries to her hand and resulting staph infections because of the attack, the lawsuit said. Fischer’s lawsuit said that she was walking in the Gondola Plaza, near the outdoor tables at Starbucks, when a black Labrador named Babu Sarofim “leapt up from its position and lunged directly” at her, biting her left hand.

“Fischer was able to free her left hand from Babu’s mouth and she immediately realized she was injured and bleeding from the dog bite,” the lawsuit said. A woman who witnessed the attack called 911.

For more: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30907562/detail.html

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