Tag Archives: Federal Government

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Water Shortages Threaten Hotel Industry”

“It’s no wonder then the hotel industry has become a target of well-meaning legislators and bureaucrats looking to save some precious water for the state.pool The California State Water Resources Control Board recently instituted new rules that among other things require foodservice establishments to provide water only to customers who request it and mandate hotels give an option to guests of not having linens and towels laundered daily.”

Let’s face it: The hotel industry in the United States over the past 20 years has mostly been paying lip service to sustainability issues. It’s difficult to blame hotel owners and operators for that attitude because environmental issues are seldom major operational or profitability concerns at most properties.

There are exceptions, of course, but for the owner of a typical mid-market suburban hotel, green issues typically are only seriously addressed for one of two reasons: the vague promise of operating cost savings or the public relations glow generated by being a good and green citizen.

That situation is beginning to change, especially in California and the Southwest. The culprit is water, or the lack thereof.

For more: http://bit.ly/1yPC4Pa

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Filed under Finances, Hotel Industry, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Oklahoma Restaurant Group Sued By Labor Department For Violating Fair Labor Standards Act; Fixed Salaries Without Overtime And Tips Alleged

“…FLSA-covered employees, who in some cases worked as many as 72 hours in a week, were paid a fixed salary without overtime compensation for hours beyond 40 in a week. In addition to overtime violations, this practice resulted in minimum wage violations because employees did not always receive at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Investigators also found that wait personnel were required to turn their tips over to management at the end of every shift, which caused their pay to fall below the minimum wage. Finally, the employer did not keep proper records as required…”

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Tulsa-based El Tequila LLC and owner Carlos Aguirre after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions. These violations resulted in a total of approximately $1 million in unpaid wages owed to 221 kitchen and wait staff, hosts and bussers at four restaurant locations.

The suit was filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma, Tulsa Division, and it seeks to recover the full amount of back wages for the employees as well as an injunction prohibiting future violations of the FLSA.

“The restaurant industry employs some of our country’s lowest-paid, most vulnerable workers,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “When violations of the FLSA are discovered, the Labor Department will take appropriate action to ensure workers receive the wages they have earned and to which they are legally entitled.”

Violations were found at the company’s restaurants on Memorial Drive and South Howard Avenue in Tulsa, East 86nd Street North in Owasso and North Elm Place in Broken Arrow.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. In accordance with the FLSA, an employer of a tipped employee is required to pay no less than $2.13 an hour in direct wages provided that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages do not equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Employers are required to provide employees notice of the FLSA’s tip credit provisions, to maintain accurate time and payroll records, and to comply with the act’s restrictions applying to workers under age 18.

For more: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20122050.htm#.UIqdN4b0_h8

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Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Flood Risks: Tennessee Hotel Owners Sue Federal Government For "Negligence" In Managing Spillway Resulting In "100-Year Flood" Levels Two Years Ago

Gaylord wants $250 million for damages to its Gaylord Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry House

 “…the Corps opened the spillway at Old Hickory Dam…the discharges were so high they caused the Cumberland River to rise above the 100-year flood plain and cause all this damage…”

Gaylord Entertainment plans to file a lawsuit today against the federal government, alleging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service negligence led to major damage to its luxury hotel during the Cumberland River flood two years ago.

The suit will contend that the Corps was negligent in opening the spillway at the Old Hickory Dam on May 2, 2010, and the Weather Service failed to notify the public that water levels would reach the 100-year flood levels that devastated homes and businesses.

Gaylord and A.O. Smith filed initial claims with the Corps and the Weather Service for compensation in October, a requirement under the 1946 Federal Tort Claims Act, which governs how legal action can be filed against the federal government.

Once the two agencies rejected the Gaylord and A.O. Smith claims, the companies were free to file a lawsuit but had to endure a six-month waiting period.

For more:  http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120430/BUSINESS01/304300044/Gaylord-to-sue-Corps-over-2010-flooding

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Filed under Flood Insurance, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Chicago Hotel Pool Remains Closed Due To Failure To Comply With Federal Law Requiring Drains To Be Fitted With Large Covers And Backup Systems

“…The law requires drains to be fitted with larger covers and backup systems. It affects all public pools and spas, including those at apartment and condo complexes, hotels and health clubs…Since the law went into effect, the commission first removed the backup requirement, then reinstated it, bowing to pressure from the industry and then to safety advocates…”

Sunlight still bathes the mosaic tile, terra-cotta fountain and potted palms at the Hotel InterContinental’s iconic indoor pool. But no bathers ripple the water. Stuck in regulatory purgatory, the pool has been closed since October.

The junior Olympic-sized pool is one of the better-known in the city and once drew famous visitors like “Tarzan” star Johnny Weissmuller. Now, it’s among nearly 300 public pools across Illinois still listed as noncompliant with federal regulations designed to reduce the risk of swimmers being sucked into drains and drowning.

Hotel officials say their pool will reopen soon. And many of the other facilities are outdoors and would be closed in winter, anyway. But with so many affected sites, expensive fixes and delays in getting state approval, some pool operators wonder if they’ll be ready come spring.

For more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-pool-drains-update-20120115,0,7498748.story

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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Pool And Spa

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Colorado Hotel Owners Sued By U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) For Firing White Workers In Favor Of Hispanic Workers

“…one of the fired employees was told she was being terminated because the hotel owners preferred non-American and non-Caucasian workers ‘because it was their impression that such workers are lazy’..”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is seeking back pay for employees that federal officials said were fired from a Hampton Inn franchise in Craig, Colo., according to the lawsuit filed last week.

Former employees at a western Colorado hotel said they were fired and replaced with Latino workers because the business owners thought white and non-Hispanic workers were lazy, according to a federal lawsuit announced Monday.

The lawsuit claims the general manager of the hotel was told by the business owners “to hire more qualified maids, and that they preferred maids to be Hispanic because in their opinion Hispanics worked harder.”

For more:  http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q51LLO1.htm

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Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Insurance, Labor Issues, Legislation, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Government Regulators To Enforce "Wage-And-Hour Laws" Regarding Minimum Wage And Overtime Pay; Multiple Fines To Hotel Owners Found Guilty Of "Wage Theft"

 “…Labor officials will target businesses that improperly label workers as independent contractors or as non-employees to deprive workers of minimum wage and overtime pay. Misclassifying workers also lets companies avoid paying workers compensation, unemployment insurance and federal taxes..”

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has made increased enforcement of federal wage-and-hour laws a top priority since she took office in 2009. The department has focused on industries where so-called “wage theft” is considered a problem, including the hotel, restaurant, janitorial, health care and day care industries.

Patricia Smith, the Labor Department’s top lawyer, said sharing information between state and federal agencies could subject businesses to multiple fines.

“There’s more of an incentive to be in compliance because the cost of what we consider to be illegal activity has increased,” Smith said in an interview.

In the past, Smith said, a company might pay a single fine to a state agency for not making proper unemployment insurance payments. Under the new agreements, a state can share the information with the Labor Department, which also can seek fines and penalties for federal wage violations.

The violation also would be reported to the IRS, which can go after the company for unpaid taxes, Smith said.

States that have agreed to work with the Labor Department so far include Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Utah and Washington. Labor officials from New York and Illinois plan to sign up in the near future.

For more:  http://online.wsj.com/article/AP1a153b15fbd44922854b2aff6f272223.html

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Filed under Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management