Category Archives: Labor Issues

by | February 19, 2012 · 7:32 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Hotel Owners Settle "EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawuit" Brought By Autistic Desk Clerk

“…the hotel’s owner, signed a three-year settlement agreement that will pay the clerk $125,000—and donate $7,500 to Partnerships with Indus­try, a San Diego-based nonprofit that provides employment support to people with disabilities…”

The EEOC and the Comfort Suites Hotel in Mission Valley have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of an autistic desk clerk who sought state assistance to perform his job but was fired instead. It’s a case that shows how the threat of litigation can sometimes result in greater good.

The man asked California to provide a state-sponsored job coach. Even though the job coach’s serv­­ices were free, the hotel wouldn’t allow the coach to help the clerk. Eventually it fired the clerk, despite previous work experience showing that autism didn’t prevent him from being a solid employee.

After the clerk filed an EEOC disability discrimination suit, the two sides agreed to settle.

But Tarsadia didn’t stop there. In addition to totally revamping its reasonable accommodation procedures and policies, it will hire a consultant to train all employees about disability rights and reasonable ac­­­­com­­modation procedures. The consultant will hold supervisors and managers accountable for their actions in regard to disabled employees.

For more:  http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/29400/socal-hotel-steps-up-after-firing-autistic-employee

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by | February 15, 2012 · 8:32 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: California Hotel Employees Taken To Hospitals After Chlorine Gas Release; Worker Accidently Mixed Bleach And Fluorosilic Acid

The accident happened when a worker accidentally mixed bleach and fluorosilicic acid.

Thirty Portola Hotel and Spa employees, mostly housekeepers, were back on the job Tuesday after being taken to three area hospitals Monday because of a chlorine gas release, said Janine Chicourrat, the hotel’s general manager.

“We’re having a better day today than we did yesterday,” she said.

Chicourrat said she has met with Cal-OSHA about the incident. “We’re just looking at all of our procedures together,” she said.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stayed overnight Sunday at the Monterey hotel but left before the evacuation of guests and workers.

Romney’s swift visit to the Peninsula was confirmed by local Republican Party spokesman Paul Bruno after the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign staff also confirmed it to local media.

For more:  http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_19965777/monterey-hotel-workers-back-job-after-chlorine-gas

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by | February 14, 2012 · 1:23 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Massachussetts Hotel Settles Class-Action Lawsuit Over "Withholding Portion Of The 20 Percent Service Charge" Billed To Banquet Patrons

One-third of the 20 percent service charges billed to patrons at banquets was withheld, said Anthony Chavarry of Dalton, who was the whistleblower and leading plaintiff on behalf of the workers.

“…only employees directly involved in service to customers are entitled to share tips — waitpersons, bartenders and buspersons are included. But food and beverage service managers, sales staff and others are not entitled to any portion of gratuities…”

The Crowne Plaza Hotel, owned by the Berkshire Common Corp., has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed at Berkshire Superior Court in November 2009 on behalf of 150 current and former employees who served customers at banquets between November 2006 and June 2010 at the city’s largest lodging establishment.

The $1.3 million settlement, which awaits expected final approval at a fairness hearing May 1, includes legal fees. The workers will share about $850,000, depending upon the amount of time they were employed at the hotel during the period covered by the lawsuit, said attorney Paul Holtzman of the Boston firm Krokidas and Bluestein, which specializes in employment law.

Some employees may see payouts in the tens of thousands of dollars, he said. After the settlement gains the final green light from Berkshire Superior Court, Berkshire Common is required to send out settlement checks by Oct. 17, according to court documents. Copies of the settlement documents are in the mail to the employees affected.

The hotel does not admit any liability, according to the class-action settlement documents.

For more:  http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_19954538

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by | February 13, 2012 · 10:34 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: The "2012 California Employment Law" Makes It Unlawful To "Misclassify Employees As Independent Contractors" With Severe Penalties Imposed

CLICK ON "CALIFORNIA" TO VIEW "2012 EMPLOYMENT LAW" UPDATE

For more:  http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=396703df-f68e-4468-8dc9-7bc9a9a6ee01

 

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by | February 11, 2012 · 7:04 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Louisiana Hotel Director Of Security "Indicted By Grand Jury" For Allegedly "Covering Up Rape" In Hotel

“As the director of security, etc., if you see what you perceive to be a crime, you need to call it in and let the police and the district attorney sort it out…they may have made some decisions of their own to not do that, and now the district attorney feels like what they did was a crime, which is covering up a bigger crime of aggravated rape.”

An Orleans grand jury indicted three people Thursday, one on a rape charge, and two Sheraton hotel employees for allegedly trying to cover it up.

One of those facing charges is the hotel’s former head of security.  FOX 8 sources say the rape took place in an ice room on the 44th floor of the Sheraton hotel in Dec. 2010.

We’re told a security guard responded to the call from a guest, and that guard witnessed the rape.  But one source says the hotel’s director of security, 31-year-old Antonio Rodriguez, instructed the guard to write up the report as a non-complaint, instead of a rape.

The grand jury indicted 21-year-old Anthony Davis with one count of aggravated rape, and now Rodriguez and the manager on duty that day, 23-year-old Lila Schwary, both face a charge of conspiracy to compound a felony.

For more:  http://www.fox8live.com/mostpopular/story/Three-indicted-for-Sheraton-Hotel-rape/7Blf6YYAHki8kMzmEZ8fwg.cspx

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by | February 10, 2012 · 6:41 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: New York City Hotel Housekeeper's To Carry "Security Panic Button" Devices In Wake Of Sexual Assault Case (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KeNcPW_0ig&feature=player_embedded]

Nine months ago a hotel maid accused Dominique Strauss Kahn of sexual assault. The case was dropped but now NYC hotel owners and the union that represents maids wants all housekeepers to carry a security ‘panic button.’

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by | February 9, 2012 · 1:57 am

Hospitality Industry Compliance Risks: Hotels Must Equip Pools And Spas With "Pool Lifts" To Comply With 2010 ADA Standards

The 2010 ADA Standards for pool access have significantly changed the requirements for municipal and private pools by requiring, for the first time, that they be equipped with independently useable pool lifts during all operating hours.

Since the DOJ announced its intention to require lifts in nearly all pools, the hotel industry and others have opposed or sought clarification of this provision.

In October, 2010, the American Hotel & Lodging Association sought clarification of the pool lift requirements which become mandatory on March 15, 2012. The AH&LA noted that pool lifts, particularly fixed devices, are potentially dangerous to users and children playing around pools. Moreover, they can be quite costly to most pool operators. The industry’s concerns apparently fell on deaf ears as evidenced by the DOJ’s position issued this week.

The DOJ has officially confirmed that:

  • The mandatory date for installation of pool lifts is March 15, 2012.
  • Pool lifts need to be installed at each pool during all operating times and be independently operable by disabled persons.
  • Pool lifts must be “fixed” unless the operator can prove that doing so would not be “readily achievable” as defined in the ADA, in which event, a portable lift meeting all of the ADA Guidelines could be deployed.
  • Accessible lifts cannot be shared between a pool and a spa, each would seem to require a separate device.
  • Pool lifts must be properly maintained and in good repair, with any battery components charged for use.
  • Staff must be trained in the use and safety of pool lifts.

For more:  http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2012/02/doj_flash_on_pool_lifts.html

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by | February 7, 2012 · 7:41 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Alaska Hotel Operator Ordered By Federal Judge To "Restore Terms And Conditions Of Employment" Prior To 2009 Union Negotiation Stoppage

 “…The injunction comes after a three-year legal battle. It requires the Sheraton take steps to restore the terms and conditions of employment as they existed prior to the hotel’s decision to stop union negotiations in 2009…”

Anchorage hotel workers are celebrating after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against Remington Hospitality, the Texas-based operator of the city’s Sheraton Hotel.

Fay Gavin, a banquet server with 24 years with the Sheraton says she joined the lawsuit after management started doing things like cutting lunch breaks, increasing workload and giving away hours to temp workers.   The injunction, she says, is a step in the right direction.

“With this injunction we’re going to get our seniority back. With seniority, hopefully some of us will have an income again. And then down the road, the fired employees will be coming back, we hope to get back and get a contract, a fair contract and have respect again,” Gavin said.

For more:  http://www.alaskapublic.org/2012/02/06/judge-issues-preliminary-injunction-against-sheraton-hotel-operator/

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by | February 6, 2012 · 8:23 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: South Carolina Hotel's Swimming Pool Heater May Have Been Leaking Carbon Monoxide For Weeks Prior To Guest's Death

Investigators say the hotel’s swimming pool heater leaked carbon monoxide sometime during the night, killing Moran and injuring at least 17 others. Carbon monoxide readings at the hotel reached 500 and 600 parts per million, South Charleston Fire Chief Greg Petry said. Authorities say any reading over 30 parts per million is cause for concern.

“…(a guest)… speculated that his death was caused by the swimming pool before investigators confirmed that carbon monoxide leaked from the pool’s heater…”

Staff members at the Holiday Inn Express in South Charleston were aware of a problem with their swimming pool 10 days before an apparent carbon monoxide leak from the pool’s heater killed one and injured several others Tuesday, two Randolph County women said this week.

Lori Burnside, 40, of Montrose, and Danielle Mallow, 38, of Elkins, stayed at the Corridor G hotel with their two daughters on Jan. 21, but said they did not get any sleep because the hotel’s fire alarms kept them awake during the night.

The alarms were blamed on a problem with the indoor swimming pool, they said, which had to be constantly ventilated by the hotel staff.

For more:  http://wvgazette.com/News/201202040030?page=2&build=cache

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by | February 4, 2012 · 6:49 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Appeals Court Allows "Facebook Photos" As Evidence In Denying Man's Claim For Additional Compensation In Workers' Compensation Claim

“…the appeals court agreed with previous rulings, which denied a request for additional treatment after diagnostic tests showed “no recurrent hernia and surgery to explore the scrotum” and saw no abuse by the courts in allowing the photos…In denying Clement’s request for additional compensation and treatment, the court ruled in favor of the use of Facebook photos as a evidence…”

An appeals court  has ruled that photos on Facebook and Myspace of a man “drinking and partying” can be used as evidence to deny him further workers compensation claims.

At the center of the suit is  Zackery Clement, who suffered a hernia  March 12, 2009 after a refrigerator fell on him while on the job at Johnson’s Warehouse Showroom in Pine Bluff,  Ark.  Clement, who was compensated for medical expenses and received temporary total-disability benefits for more than a year, was seeking an extension of benefits following three surgeries as a result of the injury.

An administrative law judge and the Arkansas Compensation Commission denied Clement’s application for additional benefits, and Clement, 27, was hoping the Arkansas Court of Appeals would reverse the ruling. He argued that he needed further medical treatment and disability payments because of “excruciating pain.”

For more:  http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/02/court-okays-facebook-party-photos-in-workers-comp-claim/

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