Category Archives: Training

by | March 20, 2013 · 6:01 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Tennessee Hotel Housekeepers Hospitalized After “Exposure To Carbon Monoxide” In Basement Laundry Room

hotel Carbon Monoxide Poisoning“…two housekeepers were in a basement laundry room when they began feeling dizzy and nauseous. One of the house keepers got physically sick…both women were taken to Memorial Hospital Hixson for treatment…”

Two Holiday Inn Express employees fell ill over suspected exposure to carbon monoxide. Officials with the Chattanooga Fire Department say they responded to the Holiday Inn Express on Hixson Pike around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters evacuated the building. They used gas monitors to check the building and found elevated levels of carbon monoxide. The building was ventilated and aired and deemed safe to return to.

For more:  http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/21722645/2-motel-employees-fall-ill-after-carbon-monoxide-exposure

Motel management and Chattanooga Gas officials are working to determine what caused the leak and repair it.

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by | March 15, 2013 · 6:41 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Restaurant Sued By Woman “Sexually Assaulted” By Employee Near Restroom; Failed To Perform Background And Reference Check

“…the lawsuit filed in San Mateo Superior Court alleges that Straits owners failed to provide a background or Hospitality Industry Criminal Background Checks (2)reference check for Guicoy that could have shed light on his “mental instability and propensity toward sexual assault…”

A Foster City woman is suing a restaurant where a dishwasher attempted to rape her as she waited to use the restroom on New Years Eve 2011. Now Mary Hagan, 35, has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Straits in Burlingame, claiming it could have performed a background or reference check on Jose Mauricio Guicoy before hiring him.

Guicoy allegedly grabbed Hagan and began pulling her into a closet with his pants unzipped, reported the San Mateo County Times. She was able to fight him off.

Guicoy pleaded no contest to sexual battery, and was sentenced a month later to two years in prison.

For more:  http://sanmateo.patch.com/articles/foster-city-woman-sexually-assaulted-by-dishwasher-files-lawsuit-against-restaurant

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by | March 14, 2013 · 5:53 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Michigan Motel Settles “Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit” For $27,500; Safety Of Unborn Fetus No Reason For Employment Exclusion

“…according  to the EEOC’s suit, Ramin fired a housekeeper after she reported her pregnancy  to them.  Management stated it could not  allow the employee to continue to work as a housekeeper because of the  EEOCpotential harm to the development of her baby, the EEOC said…”

Ramin Inc., the owner of a Comfort Inn & Suites  in Taylor, Mich., will pay $27,500 to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit  (EEOC v. Ramin, Inc., 2012-cv-15015) filed by the U.S. Equal Employment  Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Title VII  of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act  (PDA), protects female employees against discrimination based on  pregnancy.  Under the statute, an  employer may not exclude pregnant women from employment based on the employer’s  supposed concerns about the safety of the mother or unborn fetus.  The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to  reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In a consent decree filed with the  U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the company agreed to  pay $2,500 in back pay and $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.  In addition, Ramin agreed to a permanent  injunction enjoining it from discriminating against an employee due to her  pregnancy or requiring a pregnant employee to provide medical documents that  releases her to work.  The decree  requires that Ramin provide training to all of its managerial and non-managerial  employees on sex and pregnancy discrimination; draft a new employee policy  regarding sex and pregnancy discrimination; post a notice regarding the suit  for all employees; and report to the EEOC for four years.  The injunction, training, policy revisions,  and EEOC monitoring constitute targeted, equitable relief that aims to prevent  similar violations in the future.

For more: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-12-13a.cfm

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by | March 13, 2013 · 6:31 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel And Restaurant Employees Subjected To “Conditions Or Actions Intended To Humiliate, Harass Or Destroy Career” File “Constructive Discharge Lawsuits”

“…the intolerable or aggravated category (of constructive discharge) are actions intended to humiliate (e.g., demoting a vice president to janitor overnight); actions intended to harass (e.g., requiring a black employee to Hospitality Industry Termination Lawsuitswork extra hours for the same pay as white co-workers and punch a clock while others do not); actions intended to destroy the employee’s career or guarantee job loss (e.g., sudden, unexplained drops in performance ratings, skipped promotions, forced demotions, pay cuts)…”

Here’s how one state supreme court defined constructive discharge: “An employee who is forced to resign due to actions and conditions so intolerable or aggravated at the time of his resignation that a reasonable person in the employee’s position would have resigned, and whose employer had actual or constructive knowledge of the intolerable actions and conditions and of their impact on the employee and could have remedied the situation, but did not, is constructively discharged.”

Factors that may contribute to a constructive discharge claim—either singly or in combination—include whether an employee suffered:

  • a demotion
  • reduction in salary
  • reduction in job responsibilities
  • reassignment to menial or degrading work
  • reassignment to work under a younger supervisor
  • involuntary transfer to a less desirable position
  • badgering, harassment or humiliation by the employer
  • offers of early retirement or encouragement to retire
  • offers of continued employment on terms less favorable than the employee’s former status
  • a threat of violence or actual physical assault
  • a threat of termination

For more:  http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/glp/43084/Termination-Guidelines.html

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by | March 11, 2013 · 8:08 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Washington Restaurant Closed For Multiple Health Code Violations That Led To Food Poisoning Outbreak

“…(violations included)…foods not protected from cross contamination, poor personal hygiene practices and Restaurant Health Code Violationsinsufficient handwashing; equipment not properly sanitized, handwashing facilities not working and an imminent health hazard: establishment linked to a foodborne illness outbreak…”

The Ambassel Bar and Restaurant on Jefferson Street in Seattle, Washington has been closed by health authorities after they discovered several health violations and associated it with a food poisoning outbreak. Public information officer for the Seattle and King County Health Department Katie Ross told Food Poisoning Bulletin that they are aware of two cases of E. coli associated with this restaurant in mid-February. She said that both cases were adults. One person was “briefly hospitalized” and both have recovered.

Seattle and King County health authorities closed the restaurant, which serves Ethiopian food, after a number of food safety violations were discovered and patrons who ate at the restaurant became ill.  Five violations were listed on the notification of closure.

Restaurant employees are a contributing factor in more than 65 percent of all foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S.,  according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Bacteria that causes disease can be transmitted directly from an infected food employee through food. That’s why restaurant employee health and personal hygiene are so important.

For more:  http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2013/food-poisoning-outbreak-closes-ambassel-restaurant-in-seattle/

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by | March 9, 2013 · 8:19 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Idaho Restaurant Chain Sued By Male Employee Who Claims “Only Women Allowed To Work As Bartenders”

“…lawsuit claims that service manager (stated) that the Louisville,Ky.-based chain’s regional director “only wanted girls working in the bar.” The complaint (states that restaurant) told women employees to wear tank EEOCtops and shorts to work and to “flirt with every guy that sits at the bar top…”

A former employee of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Ammon alleges only women can work as bartenders there, according to a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court of Idaho. Tim Fenton was employed at the restaurant as a trainer, bartender and server before his dismissal in October 2012.Fenton lost out on bartending assignments and Baird allegedly promoted a woman to tend bar that he had a crush on.

Baird also demoted Fenton from his position as a trainer allegedly in retaliation for his and his wife’s reports to Texas Roadhouse about the discrimination. Sam Angell, Fenton’s attorney, said his client made a formal complaint to the chain’s human resources department, but did not receive a report back regarding an investigation of the charges or its findings.

According to the Texas Roadhouse in Ammon, Baird is no longer employed at the restaurant. A representative for Texas Roadhouse corporate headquarters said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit so could not comment.

In order to pursue a job discrimination lawsuit in federal court, plaintiffs must first file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to Angell, the EEOC determined it would not be able to complete its investigation in the required 180 days so it issued a “Notice of Right to Sue.”

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by | March 8, 2013 · 7:39 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: South Carolina Motel Fire Caused By Gasoline Vapors Ignited By Water Heater; $300,000 In Damage

“…vapors from gasoline stored there apparently ignited the pilot light in the water heater…it took 90 minutes for Motel Firemore than 50 firefighters from the town, Monetta, Ridge Spring and Lexington County to bring the blaze under control…”

A motel on the east side of town is closed after fire destroyed two-thirds of the 27-room structure, authorities said. Damage to the Leesville Lodge is estimated at $300,000, fire chief Jay Hendrix said.

The fire started shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday in the laundry room at the 27-year-old motel in the 600 block of East Columbia Avenue, he said.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/03/07/2664768/batesburg-leesville-motel-closed.html#storylink=cpy

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by | March 4, 2013 · 7:17 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance Risks: “Slip And Fall Accidents” And “Cooking Fires” Represent Top Operational Risks For Restaurant Owners

“…more than 3 million foodservice employees are injured each year from slip-and-fall accidents. With an average cost of almost $21,000 per claim, this is a substantial risk when you consider the number of guests slip_and_fall accidentwho also fall each year in a foodservice establishment…”

Cintas Corporation, a nationwide leader in restaurant facility solutions, identified the top 13 hidden risks to restaurant operations in 2013. By identifying potential risks before they become a problem, restaurant owners and managers can reduce their exposure and maximize their bottom line by ensuring the proper programs are in place.

  • Slip and falls: According to the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), more than 3 million foodservice employees are injured each year from slip-and-fall accidents. With an average cost of almost $21,000 per claim, this is a substantial risk when you consider the number of guests who also fall each year in a foodservice establishment. Protect floors, workers, and patrons with a comprehensive safe-floor program that includes deep cleaning, protection, and ongoing maintenance.
  • Cooking fires: By knowing that the majority of restaurant fires occur around 10 a.m., restaurant operators can develop a fire protection system that prevents or limits the spread of cooking fires. Ensure that hood suppression systems are regularly inspected by a licensed fire protection provider so they are always in working order and ready to extinguish a fire. Also, have your kitchen hood and exhaust ducts cleaned of excess grease and fuel at regular intervals.

For more:  http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/cintas-reveals-top-13-hidden-restaurant-risks?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+QSRmagazine+%28QSR+magazine%29

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by | March 1, 2013 · 7:12 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Oregon Restaurant Chain Sued For “Forcing Minimum-Wage Employees To Cover Shortages In Cash Register”

“…Employees were required to pay kickbacks regardless of the reason for the shortage, regardless of fault and regardless of the impact of the kickback on the employee’s earnings over the pay period…those employees Hospitality Industry Wage Violation Lawsuitswere not granted any corresponding credits when the cash register had surplus funds…”

A Portland attorney is suing the state’s largest lottery retailer, alleging that it routinely violated Oregon’s minimum wage law.

Attorney Paul Breed claims that Oregon Restaurant Services Inc., which owns the lucrative Dotty’s deli chain, illegally forced minimum-wage employees to pay “kickbacks” to cover shortages in the cash register at the end of their shifts.

Under state law, tips don’t count toward the minimum wage. In fact, the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association has long lobbied the Legislature to allow “tip credit,” so tips could count toward the minimum wage, $8.95 an hour.

No Oregon employers are allowed to deduct money from workers’ wages to cover shortfalls in the till, no matter how much they earn, says Christie Hammond, deputy director of the state labor bureau, known as BOLI. Employers may ask workers to make payments to defray the costs of shortfalls only if they earn more than minimum wage, or the cost wouldn’t cause their wages to fall below minimum wage, Hammond says.

So what are restaurants and other retailers to do when they want to hold employees accountable for missing money in the cash register at the end of the day? Employers have other legal recourse if they think an employee is stealing from them or otherwise losing money, Hammond says. “But they shouldn’t be the judge and jury to decide if the employee is guilty of the shortage.”

For more:  http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/Lawsuit-slams-Dottys-kickback/LroqQJeb4EaClTE2VdLNaA.cspx

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by | February 26, 2013 · 7:14 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Florida Hotel Guests Hospitalized With “Flu-Like Symptoms” Were Exposed To High-Levels Of Carbon Monoxide; Broken Exhaust Fans In Boiler Room Caused Gas To Build Up For Days

 “…broken exhaust fans in the building’s boiler room allowed the room to fill with carbon monoxide…a guest staying (next to boiler room) was hospitalized for similar (flu-like) symptoms…but no one made the connection hotel Carbon Monoxide Poisoningto carbon monoxide exposure, and the guest was not tested…firefighters suspect the carbon monoxide level was high since Friday or earlier…”

Guests at a south Fort Myers hotel may have been exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide at least three days before the building was evacuated Monday. Firefighters responded to Crestwood Suites Extended Lodging off U.S. 41 around 12:45 p.m. Monday and discovered high levels of the deadly gas.

Guests were allowed back inside after firefighters shut off the gas and ventilated the building, but two people were hospitalized for exposure. The two hospitalized guests, who were staying near the boiler room, are in good condition and were hospitalized for observation as a precaution, Knudsen said.

Knudsen said firefighters checked carbon monoxide levels after the two guests called Lee County EMS complaining of flu-like symptoms. Responding firefighters noticed the guests’ proximity to the boiler room and suspected their symptoms were caused by an environmental factor.

Firefighters measured the carbon monoxide level in the boiler room at 2,000 parts per million, and in the lobby at 300 parts per million. Exposure to anything above 600 parts per million carries a high risk of death, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry website. Patients can experience symptoms including drowsiness, weakness, nausea, headaches and coma at levels of 160 to 1,000.

For more:  http://www.news-press.com/article/20130226/NEWS0117/302260021/Cause-guests-flu-south-Fort-Myers-hotel-Carbon-monoxide

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