Tag Archives: Employees

by | September 7, 2012 · 6:20 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Florida Restaurant Group Faces Lawsuit For "Failing To Pay Minimum Wages" And Forcing Employees To Work "Off-The-Clock" (Video)

The lawsuit accuses the Orlando, Florida-based company of failing to pay federally mandated minimum wages and forcing its waiters and waitresses to work “off-the-clock” before or after their shifts.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoEWJzbMDw0]

The lawsuit accuses the Orlando, Florida-based company of failing to pay federally mandated minimum wages and forcing its waiters and waitresses to work “off-the-clock” before or after their shifts.

Darden Restaurants Inc, best known for its Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, was hit with a lawsuit in federal court in Miami on Thursday accusing one of the largest U.S. restaurant operators of violating federal labor laws by underpaying workers at its popular eateries across the country.

Filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, it also claims many Darden employees have failed to receive appropriate overtime wages for work in excess of 40 hours per week.

Only two plaintiffs are named in the 19-page complaint filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

For more:  http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/usa-darden-lawsuit-idINL2E8K6HAN20120906

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by | August 29, 2012 · 1:15 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel And Restaurant Owners Should Maintain "Employment Practices Liability Insurance" And Institute Complaint Procedures To Reduce Employee Lawsuits

 “…these suits catch employers by surprise since, even if they terminate an employee for a business reason, every separated employee can claim discrimination on the basis of a protected class such as race, gender or sexual orientation…”

Employers who can afford it purchase Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) to protect their businesses.

In the last three to four years, HR lawsuits have been on the rise, and unfortunately, there does not seem to be any end in sight. The U.S. Department of Labor reports the number of lawsuits related to the Fair Labor Standards Act, alone, increased 35 percent in three years. And this is only one small area that an employer can be sued. The following steps can be taken to minimize lawsuits:

  • Your employee handbook must contain broad and multi-tiered complaint procedures so employees have sufficient recourse when they feel victimized by harassing or discriminating behavior.
  • Provide annual employment law training to all of your supervisors and require them to sign acknowledgments.
  • Educate your employees at the time of hire – during orientation, for instance – about the avenues open to them should they have a problem and need to complain.
  • Most critically, take prompt remedial action when someone complains. In other words, do something about it within 48 hours or less of receiving the complaint. It is best to seek legal advice when such a complaint occurs.

For more:  http://www.floridatrend.com/article/14575/more-employees-are-suing-employers

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by | August 14, 2012 · 6:21 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Hotel Sued By Former Hostess For "Harassment And Religious Discrimination"

“…Boudlal alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday, that her co-workers began taunting her, calling the Moroccan-born Muslim a “terrorist,” a “camel” and someone who learned how to make bombs at her mosque. She complained to her managers verbally and in writing, she said, with no results…”

Imane Boudlal is suing Walt Disney Corp. in federal court, saying that she was discriminated against and harassed for her religious beliefs. She also alleges that she unfairly lost her job in 2010 after refusing to remove her head scarf at work.

“It’s been hard,” Boudlal said in an interview. “I thought it was just a matter of complaining and a few days, and it wouldn’t affect my life, but it turns out … nothing has been done.”

The lawsuit charges that Boudlal, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, decided to wear her hijab full time in 2010, about eight months after she began wearing it publicly. She contacted her supervisors at Disneyland to request an exemption to the company’s “look” policy — general appearance guidelines that, according to a Disney website, touch on items ranging from contact lens color and visible tattoos to personal hygiene.

For more:  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-disney-muslim-lawsuit-20120814,0,2971071.story

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by | August 6, 2012 · 7:26 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: South Carolina Restaurant Group Pays $1.1 Million To Settle "Alcohol-Related Death" Lawsuit Caused By Assistant Manager

“…the 32-year-old (defendant) has just left his job as an assistant manager at Husk restaurant last December when he rear-ended a car being driven by 32-year-old Quentin Miller on the Ravenel Bridge. Miller died in the fiery wreck, and police say Burnell’s blood-alcohol level was 0.24 percent…”

The parent company of a Charleston restaurant will pay $1.1 million to the family of a man killed in a drunken driving crash that authorities say was caused by one of the restaurant’s employees.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports the settlement calls for Miller’s parents to get $518,000, Miller’s common-law wife to get $91,500 and the remaining $490,000 to go to attorneys’ fees and costs. The settlement should be finalized at a hearing later this week.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/05/3432731/charleston-restaurant-to-pay-1m.html#storylink=cpy

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by | August 4, 2012 · 8:47 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Motel Sued By Maid Injured After Slipping Near Leaky Faucet In Break Room

She was walking near the break room area when she slipped and fell in water that had been leaking from a faulty sink…The plaintiff is suing for his alleged past and future medical expenses, mental anguish, pain and lost wages, plus all court costs.

Alleging a company failed to post a warning sign of a known danger, a maid is suing the owners of a Super 8 Motel, claiming a leaky faucet near the break room caused her to slip and fall two years ago. Port Arthur local Gricelda Gutierrez filed suit against Triangle Hospitality Inc. on July 27 in Jefferson County District Court.

According to the lawsuit, on July 27, 2010, Gutierrez was working at Triangle Hospitality’s Super 8 Motel in Port Arthur as a housekeeper. Gutierrez claims she was injured in the fall, although the suit fails to state her alleged injuries.

She accuses the defendant of negligently failing to provide her with a safe work area, alleging that the company knew of the leaky facet and did nothing to remedy the unsafe working conditions.

The suit states the defendant failed to post a warning sign of a known danger.

For more: http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/245756-leaky-sink-causes-maid-to-slip-motel-sued-for-not-posting-warning-sign-of-known-danger

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by | August 1, 2012 · 6:19 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: North Carolina Hotel Sued By EEOC For "Failure To Accommodate An Employee's Religious Beliefs"

 “…the defendants’ managers scheduled Neal to work the evening shift on Friday, Dec. 24, 2010.  Because the shift interfered with her Sabbath observance, Neal, who had previously been allowed to be off for her Sabbath by other managers at the hotel, explained that she could not work on that evening because of her Sabbath.  The hotel managers refused Neal’s request and instead fired her…”

The owners/operators of Comfort Inn Oceanfront South in Nags Head, N.C., violated federal law when they failed to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and then fired her because of her religion, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed Monday.

According to the EEOC’s complaint, Claudia Neal, who worked as a front desk clerk at Comfort Inn Oceanfront South, is a Seventh-Day Adventist. Neal observes her Sabbath from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday.

For more:  http://thejobmouse.com/2012/07/31/comfort-inn-oceanfront-south-sued-by-eeoc-for-firing-employee-over-sabbath-issue/

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by | July 30, 2012 · 7:01 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Hotel Management Must Perform Regular "Self-Audits" To Determine If Company Is Properly Classifying Workers As Employees Or Independent Contractors

“(The hotel) industry in particular has a tradition of using staffing companies and other staffing arrangements to provide workers, and I think that industry tradition has provided problems for some hotel companies,”

“Hotel companies need to be ahead of the law…do a self-audit … If you’re not compliant, you can take remedial measures to avoid fines from the Department of Labor.”

As the U.S. Department of Labor under the Obama administration is cracking down harder on violations, staying informed about employee misclassification is crucial for hotel operators if they want to avoid costly fines, according to employment attorneys.

Because employment laws often can be complicated, Feldstein suggests employers classify employees themselves by applying the “Right-to-Control” test.

The Right-to-Control test compares the ends versus the means in producing the work the employee was hired to do. If the employer is concerned with only the end result, the employee should be classified an independent contractor.

However, if the employer controls the means and methods of the project in addition to establishing the routine and schedule, it is likely the worker should be classified an employee.

Should an employer need further information, the U.S. Department of Labor website contains basic guidelines that serve as a good starting point, Chapman said.

“There are HR organizations such as (the Society for Human Resource Management) that conduct training and research and guidance on this law and others, which can be helpful,” he said.

Applying the law to a specific set of facts to determine whether or not that individual should be classified as an employee or independent contractor might require the help of an actual practicing attorney, Chapman said.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/8674/Classify-employees-properly-to-avoid-penalty

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by | July 15, 2012 · 6:51 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Michigan Hotel Employee Charged With Stealing Money From Manager's Room; Background Check Would Have Revealed Lengthy Criminal History

“(the employee) allegedly stole $220 from the purse of her assistant manager who had been staying in a room at the hotel…a hotel manager confirmed that since the Lewis incident, the hotel now conducts background checks. The manager said had they known that Lewis had been convicted of crimes in the past, they would have not hired her…”

An employee of a Muskegon Heights hotel with a lengthy criminal background has been charged with a felony for allegedly stealing money from her manager’s room. Kortney Donesia Lewis, 24, of Muskegon, was arraigned in Muskegon County 60th District Court on Wednesday on one count of larceny from a building, a four-year felony, and as a fourth-time habitual offender.

“The manager noticed by surveillance video and key-code confirmation that Lewis had been in her room,” Gardner said. “Lewis was confronted and admitted it.”

Gardner said Lewis’ criminal history includes a 2006 conviction for an embezzlement charge; a 2009 conviction of larceny from a building and a conviction that same year for stealing and using someone’s credit card.

Based on that history, Gardner said it’s difficult to sympathize with the hotel officials who hired Lewis. “In this case it doesn’t just seem to be the responsibility of the defendant for her actions, but for the hotel for hiring a woman with an extensive criminal history for theft crimes,” he said. “It defies commonsense to give a person with that background access to rooms that often times hold valuables.”’

For more:  http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/07/muskegon_heights_hotel_employe.html

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by | July 5, 2012 · 6:14 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: South Carolina Hotel Settles Sexual Harassment And Retaliation Lawsuit With EEOC For $90,000

“… from at least August 2007 until January 2009, the hotel’s male general manager subjected the women to sexual comments, sexual advances and unwelcome touching. When Tamara Byrd reported the sexual harassment to the defendants’ corporate office, the defendants failed to properly investigate or stop the harassment. The general manager then discharged Byrd. The EEOC contends that Byrd’s discharge was because she refused the general manager’s unwelcome sexual advances and in retaliation for her complaints of sexual harassment to the corporate office…”

The operators and management company of a Holiday Inn Express in Simpsonville, S. C., will pay $90,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced Monday.

The agency had charged that the defendants, Imperial Investments Greenville, Inc. and Imperial Investments Group, Inc., violated federal law by subjecting several female employees to a sexually hostile work environment at the hotel. The lawsuit further charged that one woman was unlawfully fired in retaliation for complaining about the sexual harassment. Such alleged actions violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and retaliation.

According to the EEOC’s suit, the defendants maintained a sexually hostile working environment for Tamara Byrd, Pamela Kral, and Billie Jones. More specifically, the complaint alleged thatIn addition to $90,000 in monetary damages to be split among the harassment victims.

For more:  http://thejobmouse.com/2012/07/05/simpsonville-hotel-to-pay-90000-to-women-subjected-to-sexual-comments-propositions-and-touching-by-male-supervisor/

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by | July 2, 2012 · 7:38 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Indiana Restaurants Fined For Child Labor Law Violations Involving Break Regulations

If a minor age 14-17 works six or more hours in a shift, an employer is required to give the minor one or two breaks totaling at least 30 minutes. Hour violations occur when a minor works past the legally defined deadline for the minor’s age.

In most cases, minors may not work during school hours, from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., on school days. While 16- and 17-year-olds may work during school hours with written permission from the school, there is no such exemption for 14- and 15-year-olds.

Five East Central Indiana restaurants have been fined within the past year for repeat violations of child labor laws.

The Ponderosa Steakhouse in Portland received the biggest penalty, $2,200, after its third violation in a year of break regulations involving minors.The restaurant also was fined $400 for hour violations involving two minors.

Modern child labor laws serve a dual purpose based on their roots in compulsory education, according to the Indiana Department of Labor. The first is to make certain that young people pursue education, and the second is to protect young workers from suffering injury, illness or death in the workplace.

One East Central Indiana employer received a warning for employing a minor in a hazardous/prohibited occupation following a workplace fatality.

The labor department gives employers an opportunity to protest violations within 30 days of being notified of a fine. Several restaurants received warnings for employing minors during school hours but were not fined because it was a first offense.

For more:  http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20120702/NEWS01/307020015

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