by | January 9, 2014 · 8:22 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: “Boone Hotel Executive Charged in Best Western Deaths “

“…Investigators have determined that carbon monoxide from the swimming pool water heater seeped up from a corroded exhaust pipe into the room, Imagekilling Daryl and Shirley Jenkins of Washington state in April and 11-year-old Jeffrey Williams of York County in June. Jeffrey’s mother, Jeannie, suffered serious injuries…”

“…“It doesn’t require evil intent,” said John Barylick, a lawyer in the Rhode Island case. ‘It just requires that you were stunningly careless.’…”

A business executive who managed the Best Western was indicted Wednesday on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths last year of three hotel guests poisoned by carbon monoxide.A grand jury returned the three counts against Damon Mallatere, president of Appalachian Hospitality Management. The jury also indicted Mallatere on one additional count of assault inflicting serious bodily injury on another hotel guest who was poisoned.Police and prosecutors ended a news briefing without discussing the indictments, leaving many unanswered questions. Though Mallatere is the only person charged, an Observer investigation uncovered multiple missteps that contributed to the tragedies in the hotel’s Room 225.

For more: http://www.thestate.com/2014/01/08/3196549/boone-hotel-executive-charged.html

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by | January 6, 2014 · 6:44 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotels And Restaurants Increasingly Face “Prop 65” Toxic Substance Disclosure Lawsuits; “Two-Week Grace Period” Enacted

“…there has been an increase in these lawsuits over the years, with some lawyers targeting small businesses for everyday exposures, like California Prop 65 Toxin Warningalcohol or cigarette smoke outside a bar…Proposition 65 suits have helped make California the most litigious state in the union, and those lawsuits disproportionately affect small businesses…mostly small businesse paid about $22.5 million in Prop 65 settlements in 2012 alone…For virtually all environmental law in the U.S., it’s the government’s responsibility to go after businesses or products that are hurting consumers… But Proposition 65 doesn’t work like that. The state just puts out a list of chemicals that might hurt you. The responsibility is on businesses to warn consumers, and on consumers to sue if they don’t…”

“…In the amendment to the law passed in 2013, small business owners faced with a lawsuit now have a two-week grace period to comply…”

All over California, signs in restaurants, parking garages and other businesses warn that you could be exposed to chemicals that can cause cancer. The disclosure is mandated by 1986 state law. If a company fails to warn consumers, it can be sued.

But a lot has changed since the law was passed: The list of toxic chemicals is longer and the lawsuits are more prolific. In October, Gov. Jerry Brown signed an amendment to ease the burden on businesses.

For more:  http://www.npr.org/2014/01/05/259925903/calif-toxin-law-warns-consumers-but-can-burden-businesses

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by | January 5, 2014 · 9:25 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hotel Cold Weather Checklist” Presented By Risk Manager Joe Fisco Of Petra Risk Solutions (Video)

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/52051376 w=500&h=281]

P3Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Manager, Joe Fisco, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Hotel Cold Weather Checklist’. 

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 | January 3, 2014 · 9:23 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: “Smart Hotelier’s 2014 Top 10 Digital Marketing” Strategies

Hotel Yearbook 2014

Hotel Yearbook 2014 Digital Trends

Click on “Top 10” to view document.

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by | January 2, 2014 · 6:51 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Maine Restaurant Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling $80,000 Over 10 Months

“…Starting in January 2013 and continuing through October, (the defendant) began forging checks and taking cash from the Brass Compass and Hospitality Industry Employee TheftArcher’s restaurant. The lawsuit claims that Allen forged Archer’s name on $49,592 in checks and stole about $30,000 in cash from the two restaurants…Also, during those 10 months, Allen failed to pay state sales taxes for the two restaurants, which has resulted in Archer incurring interest and penalties for the failure to pay the taxes…”

The owner of two Rockland restaurants has filed a lawsuit against her former bookkeeper, alleging she embezzled nearly $80,000. Lynn Archer and her company Archer’s LLC filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Knox County Superior Court against Melanie L. Allen of Union.

Allen was arrested Oct. 23 by Rockland police and charged with felony theft and felony forgery. At the time, police said Allen was suspected of embezzling at least $18,000 from the Brass Compass Cafe and Archer’s on the Pier, both Rockland restaurants owned by Lynn Archer.

For more:  http://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/02/news/midcoast/rockland-restaurant-owner-sues-bookkeeper-over-alleged-theft/?ref=latest

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by | January 1, 2014 · 11:45 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Solutions: “2014 Hospitality Insurance & Loss Prevention Summit” On February 10 Presented By Petra Risk Solutions

Hospitality Insurance & Loss Prevention Summit Feb 10 2014 Petra Risk Solutions

2014-HLC-Brochure-12-13-20131

 

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by | December 30, 2013 · 6:52 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Pennsylvania Hotel Faces Federal “Sexual Harassment And Retaliation” Lawsuit; Woman Terminated After Making Written And Verbal Complaints

“…the hotel’s assistant manager, told the plaintiff that (the defendant) was telling others that he possessed nude photographs of Vazquez, Hospitality Industry Sexual Harassment Lawsuitssomething the woman denied…(she) met with the hotel’s manager (and asst. manager) in the spring of 2012 to discuss the situation…Vazquez subsequently offered the human resources department a written statement about the harassing conduct…Two days after she submitted her statement, the plaintiff was placed on a five-day suspension…Vazquez was told she was being suspended for voiding a transaction at the front desk when her cash drawer was short, even though the plaintiff claims she was taught to do just that in such a situation when she first started working for the defendant…After returning from her suspension on May 16, 2012, the plaintiff was immediately fired from her job…”

A Philadelphia woman who worked as a front desk agent for the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel has filed a federal civil action against the business contending she was fired in retaliation for speaking out about harassing conduct on the part of another worker.

Crystal Vazquez, who was first hired by the defendant in May 2010, maintains that her firing exactly two years later was retribution for the plaintiff complaining about sexual harassment by the hotel’s AT&T specialist, a man identified in the complaint as Ryan Sheridan. Sheridan, who is not listed as a defendant in the litigation, allegedly told hotel employees that he and the plaintiff had been sexually intimate.

Vazquez was out on maternity leave in late December 2011, which is when Sheridan was allegedly making the comments about the supposed intimate nature of his relationship with the plaintiff, the lawsuit states.

“Needless to say, Plaintiff’s termination was a direct result of her complaints regarding sexual harassment,” the complaint reads. The lawsuit accuses the hotel of violating the Civil Rights Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

For more: http://pennrecord.com/news/12512-sheraton-phila-downtown-hotel-named-in-federal-civil-rights-claim-tied-to-wrongful-firing-of-front-desk-agent

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by | December 29, 2013 · 9:47 am

“2014 Hospitality Law Conference” Sponsored By HospitalityLawyer.com On February 10-12 Features Industry Legal, Safety And Security Solutions

2014 Hospitality Law Conference-page-001

2014 Hospitality Law Conference-page-002

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by | December 28, 2013 · 7:13 am

Hospitality Industry Cyber Crime Risks: Boston Restaurant Group Was Source Of Major Credit Card Payment System Breach; “Sophisticated, Outside Attack”

“…The (restaurant group) believes that it was a sophisticated, outside attack…Boston Police and the US Secret Service are Hospitality Industry Identity Theftinvestigating…This is the second major breach of the Briar Group’s payment systems. In 2009, malware, or malicious software, was apparently installed on Briar’s computers, allowing thieves to access credit and debit card information. The chain paid a $110,000 to the state to settle allegations that it failed to protect diners’ personal information after that security breach.

A local restaurant chain confirmed Friday that its computer systems were breached, putting the credit-card information of thousands of customers at risk, including visitors who attended two major conventions in Boston.

The Briar Group, which owns 10 restaurants and bars in Boston, including two at the Westin hotel connected to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, said its computer systems were infiltrated sometime between October and early November. It said customer names, credit-card numbers, expiration dates, and security information were captured from the cards’ magnetic strips.

The company isn’t sure how many customers were affected, but every month thousands visit Briar’s locations, said Diana C. Pisciotta, a spokeswoman for the chain.

The American Public Health Association hosted 13,000 conventioneers in Boston in early November, and the American Society of Human Genetics brought 8,000 attendees to a conference in October. Both reported that hundreds of people reported unauthorized charges on their accounts after visiting Boston.

For more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/12/27/local-restaurant-chain-source-data-breach-that-compromised-card-info-conventioneers/wPhKKndyN4hshrU47J2rwO/story.html

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by | December 27, 2013 · 10:45 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: The CDC Lists The “Major Pathogens That Cause Foodborne Illness” In 2013

Major Pathogens That Cause FoodBorne Illness-page-001

Major Pathogens That Cause FoodBorne Illness-page-002

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