[vimeo http://vimeo.com/69501224]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Director Of Human Resources, Sharyn Maldonado, PHR , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Update – ‘New I-9 Documents’.
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.
Comments Off on P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “New I-9 Documents” By Petra Risk Solutions’ Director Of Human Resources Sharyn Maldonado, PHR
Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
“…four (employees) were arrested…(and) found to have outstanding federal warrants for deportation and turned over to the Department of 
Homeland Security…Heng Li, 27 of Brooklyn had a credit card skimming device and a counterfeit Michigan ID card. He was charged with possession of a forged instrument, scheme to defraud, unlawful possession of a skimmer device and unlawful possession of personal identification information, it is also believed he is in this country illegally…”
The Bethlehem Police Department raided the Golden Town Buffet Monday morning in connection with an identity theft investigation. The restaurant is located at 385 Route 9W in Glenmont.
According to the department, customers credit card and debit card information was compromised after they ate at the restaurant sometime between June 14th and August 5th. Bethlehem Police are asking anyone who used their card at the restaurant during that time frame to check their bank statements and immediately report any fraudulent transactions to their respective bank and local law enforcement agency as soon as possible.
The Bethlehem Police are being assisted in this investigation by the Albany Police, Colonie Police, New York State Police New Scotland, New York State Police Clifton Park, East Greenbush Police, US Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security.
Li was arraigned in the Town of Bethlehem Justice Court on Monday evening and remanded to the Albany County Jail without bail. He is due back in court on Thursday.
Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management, Technology, Theft
“…(the defendant) is accused of using her position as the part-time bookkeeper for the Shire Riverview motel to divert over $220,000 to her personal use, primarily through a series of checks that were made out to herself and through electronic payments of her own household bills 
directly from the inn’s bank account…Although the Inn had a computerized QuickBooks system that the DiCarlos said they reviewed periodically, Dorothy DiCarlo wrote that Smith appeared to have defeated it by entering “phony bills†from companies that the inn routinely did business with, paying them, and then at the last moment changing the business name on the payee line of the checks to her name. DiCarlo said Smith appeared to have cashed all of the fraudulent checks using a night deposit box at a branch of their bank in another town so as not to bring the unusual checks to the attention of the Woodstock branch which she said might have been quicker to catch the discrepancies…”
A Woodstock woman entered an innocent plea to a single felony count of embezzlement Thursday afternoon before being released from the Windsor County Courthouse in downtown White River Junction on personal recognizance conditions.
Shire Riverview owner Dorothy DiCarlo said she never suspected Smith and instead stumbled on the alleged thefts after she returned from vacation in late March and she was surprised by how low the balances were in the Inn’s operational account. DiCarlo wrote in her statement to police that she started flipping through checks to see what was going on and the very first one she happened to look at was made out directly to Smith for $2,400.
DiCarlo said when she asked Smith why she would need to write a check to herself Smith would not answer her directly and instead kept saying, “I will take responsibility for that check.â€
Concerned, DiCarlo said she and her husband Vincent began looking through their business records that evening and quickly found over $50,000 in suspect payments to Smith and to her personal creditors for things like her home cable, propane, and phone bills that appeared to have been paid electronically from the Inn’s bank accounts.
For more:Â http://www.thevermontstandard.com/2013/07/motels-ex-bookkeeper-pleads-not-guilty-to-embezzlement/
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Vermont Motel Employee Charged With “Felony Embezzlement” After Stealing $220,000; Cashed Fraudulent Checks In Another Town To Escape Attention
Filed under Crime, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft
“…For private-sector employers, the number of injuries involving missed work days, job restrictions or transfers to different chores dropped to 1.8 per 100 full-time workers in 2011 from 2.6 in 2003…safety experts say OSHA crackdowns and more corporate focus on 
reducing hazards helped cut the injury rate. Also, legislation in many states has made it harder to qualify for workers’ compensation, which has reduced the number of claims…a benefit of the decline is that the average cost of workers’ compensation per $100 of payroll fell to $1.79 last year from $2.67 in 1994…”
About 100 federal and state court cases involving retaliation for workers’ compensation claims were decided last year, roughly double the number a decade before, estimates Lex Larson, president of Employment Law Research Inc. Some lawyers attribute the increase to growing awareness among workers that they can seek redress in court.
While employers say the decline in injuries shows that safety programs are paying off, unions and plaintiffs’ lawyers counter that companies sometimes discourage workers from speaking up.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is taking a tougher line with employers and says too many injuries go unreported. The agency last year reminded employers that federal law bars them from retaliating against employees for reporting injuries. It also warned employers against offering bonuses or prizes for meeting safety goals if those incentives deter workers from reporting injuries.
For more:Â http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323664204578610133657300940.html
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Safety Issues: Private-Sector Workplace Injuries Fall 30% From 2003-2011; Workers’ Compensation Claims And Premiums Decline As Safety Progams Pay Off
Filed under Claims, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
 “Legal experts say they’re likely settle the cases for millions of dollars since the hotels do not contest the amount of tip money that they took 
in…Some of the hotels have already settle cases or were hit by adverse rulings. They include the Fairmont Hotel on the Big Island which paid $2.2 million and the Pacific Beach and Pagoda hotels, which paid a total of $2 million…the ruling came in the case involving two Maui hotels: the Wailea Marriott Resort and the Westin Maui. Several banquet service workers alleged in their lawsuit that the hotels imposed a 20 percent service charge but did not distribute the proceeds to workers…”
For years, Hawaii hotels regularly collected millions of dollars in tips from customers but only passed a portion of those service fees to the employees who earned them. Under a ruling by the Supreme Court today, that practice now violates Hawaii law. The high court said hotels and other businesses can only collect the tips if they disclose that they are going to keep some of the money.
Attorneys who filed class-action lawsuits on behalf of the employees say the hotels are liable for big damages. “I would say it’s going to be north of $10 million. we have $3 million on one hotel on Kauai alone,” said attorney John Perkin, whose firm has filed eight of these suits.
Boston attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, whose firm is also handling eight different class-actions against Hawaii hotels, said the ruling has broad applications beyond the hospitality industry.
“This will affect the food and beverage industry in Hawaii,” she said. “It will affect hotels, restaurants and other food and beverage establishments, catering companies, country clubs.” The cases are potentially costly because the ruling says that hotel workers can collect damages of up two times the amount in tips that the hotels took.
For more:Â http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/22848740/hotel-workers-could-get-millions-from-lost-tips
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hawaii Hotels Violate State Law In Collecting Tips And Service Charges And Not Passing It On To Employees; State Supreme Court Rules Workers Can Also Collect Damages
Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
“…the wage claims adjudication unit — the largest unit within the labor commissioner’s office that handles more than 35,000 claims a year brought by workers alleging they were denied proper wages — in 2012 heard wage claims within an average of 179 days from the date of filing, the shortest amount of time since 2008…If employees are retaliated against for cooperating with the state in a workplace investigation, the agency investigates those cases immediately…”
The California Labor Commissioner’s office last year assessed more than $51 million in civil penalties against businesses flouting labor laws, making for record-breaking results that have much to do with the office’s move away from conducting broad employer sweeps to instead zeroing in on bad actors, the agency’s chief told Law360 on Thursday.
The agency, led by State Labor Commissioner Julie Su since April 2011, focuses primarily on adjudicating wage theft claims, inspecting workplaces for wage and hour violations, and investigating retaliation complaints, and the agency’s report in May revealed that the office’s increasingly targeted efforts are paying off.
The agency’s bureau of field enforcement in 2012 uncovered more than $16 million in unpaid minimum and overtime wages owed to workers in the state, more than any previous year on record, and the more than $51 million in total civil penalties assessed in 2012 marked a 150 percent increase from 2010.
But an even more telling finding is how much the bureau has improved on workplace inspections resulting in civil penalty citations. Out of every 10 inspections, eight led to citations last year, resulting in a citation rate of 80 percent, a big increase from an average citation rate of 48 percent between 2002 and 2010, according to the report.
For more:Â http://www.law360.com/articles/453869/calif-labor-chief-sharpens-focus-on-workplace-violators–
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Labor Commissioner’s “Wage Claims Unit” Aggressively Investigating Wage Theft Claims And Assessed Record Penalties Of $51Million In 2012; Retaliation Cases Pursued Immediately
Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
“…(the plaintiff) claims she told her boss on March 28, 2012, that she would be late for work the 
following day since “a nurse would be coming to her house to draw blood to check her medication levels.”…That was the first time Connell had mentioned her cystic fibrosis to any of her supervisors, the lawsuit says. It does state, though, that a manager overseeing her was aware of her cystic fibrosis and was encouraged to keep that information private…”
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. was sued on Monday by a former employee claiming the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1991. According to the Boston Business Journal, the plaintiff, Amanda Connell, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. Connell has cystic fibrosis and was hired to work for the company in December 2011. She worked as a crew member at the Franklin, Mass., location.
When she showed up for work on March 29, 2012, with a shunt showing partly in her arm — it was for a “peripherally inserted central catheter” — the suit says she was questioned by her boss and another manager. Connell explained that it was “for the treatment of lung disease.”
According to the suit, Connell was terminated from her job at Chipotle Mexican grill the next day.
The company has declined to comment on the incident with a spokesman saying they will not speak, pending legal action.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Massachusetts Restaurant Faces “Disabilities Lawsuit” After Terminating Employee With Cystic Fibrosis
Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
“…(the former manager) allegedly stole the money through “fraudulent transactions at the restaurant,” which may have fueled his gambling, 
state police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said in September…(the owner) reported the thefts the same month Suozzo was arrested, according to court documents.  It was not clear how he discovered the alleged crime had taken place…”
A former manager at a White Township restaurant and golf club was indicted today on a theft charge after he allegedly stole more than $75,000 from his employer to fund a gambling habit. A Warren County grand jury returned an indictment today against James Suozzo, 56, of Route 57 in Franklin Township, on a theft charge.
At the time of his arrest in September, New Jersey State Police said Suozzo stole tens of thousands of dollars from Top of the Green Restaurant at Apple Mountain Golf Club while working as a restaurant and banquet manager. The investigation revealed Suozzo stole from April 2009 to June 4, 2011, court documents said.
Kiszonak did confirm Suozzo was fired.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Pennsylvania Restaurant Manager Indicted For Stealing $75,000 Through “Fraudulent Transactions”
Filed under Crime, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Theft
“…the No. 1 priority is effective case evaluation and resolution. Early factual investigation is critical in determining what happened, why it happened and who was involved. Knowing and preserving the correct version of facts and events with effective reporting mechanisms is essential 
to knowing what kind of claim possibly can be presented and what kind of exposure exists…”
“…it is critical to evaluate the potential punitive exposure early and assess the potential for a punitive claim to get to a jury. Always consider the risk that punitive damages may get to a jury, how a jury will receive the evidence and whether your hotel could be punished by a jury that is attempting to make a statement that these incidents will not be tolerated…”
Hoteliers may face the problematic public-relations case that contains a punitive damages claim. These claims include: invasion of privacy, inappropriate surveillance, over service of alcohol, and criminal actions of employees and third parties. These cases are difficult for members of the hospitality industry who pride themselves on showing customers a positive experience, want good feedback and want customers to return to their hotel.
Securing and preserving evidence, which includes photographs, videos, an accident report, incident statement and/or witness statements must be undertaken to document what the incident involves. If photographs and videos are not preserved once a hotel has notice of a claim, a court could instruct the jury that they can infer the hotel destroyed the evidence for a reason. It is critical to use technology to best find and preserve evidence. No potential accident can be overlooked as a hospitality group never knows what accidents can turn into a possible lawsuit.
For more:Â http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/10625/How-to-respond-to-punitive-damages-claims
“…the (kitchen) supervisor subjected the workers, some of whom were between the ages of 17 and 19, to sexual comments, language and advances, the EEOC said. Upon reporting the harassment to the general manager, the EEOC said, Panda Express management failed to take 
enough action to stop or correct the situation…”
Chinese quick service restaurant giant Panda Express will pay $150,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit on behalf of at least three female teenagers who were allegedly sexually harassed between 2007 and 2009 while working in a restaurant in Kauai, Hawaii, the federal agency announced today.
Sexual harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed its lawsuit in September 2012 in U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii (EEOC v. Panda Express, Inc. and Panda Restaurant Groups, Inc., Case No. 1:12-cv-00530-SOM-RLP) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. As part of the settlement announced today, the parties entered into a two-year consent decree requiring Panda Express to designate an in-house equal employment opportunity (EEO) coordinator; revise and distribute its anti-harassment policy and procedures; and provide annual sexual harassment training to all employees in Kapaa and to all general managers in the state of Hawaii. EEOC will monitor compliance with the agreement, and Panda Express agreed to reinforce its protocols relating to complaints of sexual harassment in its Hawaii region.
“We commend Panda Express for working with the EEOC to correct serious lapses in dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace,” said Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, which includes Hawaii in its jurisdiction. “We trust that Panda Express’s company values are consistent with the goals of the EEOC’s mission, and we commend them for agreeing to broader injunctive remedies to ensure that the workers in Hawaii are protected.”
For more:Â http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/5-29-13a.cfm
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hawaii Restaurant Group Settles “Sexual Harassment” Lawsuit With EEOC For $150,000, Harassment Training For All Employees & Managers
Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
