Tag Archives: Hotel Employees

by | November 18, 2013 · 10:24 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: New Mexico Hotel Settles EEOC “Religious Discrimination” Lawsuit For $100,000; Housekeeper Fired After Refusing To Remove Head Covering

 “…The EEOC lawsuit charged the employer with failing to allow Abdullah to work unless she removed her religious head covering, and fired her Equal Employment Opportunity Commissionwhen she declined to do so…the consent decree includes: an injunction prohibiting future discriminatory practices; institution of policies and procedures to address religious discrimination and retaliation; training for employees of MCM, and managers and human resource officials of both defendants on religious discrimination; and posting a notice advising employees of their rights under Title VII…”

704 HTL Operating LLC and Investment Corporation of America, doing business as MCM Elegante Hotel in Albuquerque, has agreed to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $100,000 and other relief.

The EEOC, in a news release, said the settlement resolves an EEOC lawsuit filed in September for alleged religious discrimination against Safia Abdullah, who was hired for a housekeeping position at the hotel. The hotel owners denied the allegations in the EEOC’s lawsuit and said in court papers they settled the case to avoid the risks and expenses of continued litigation.

For more: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/11-18-13.cfm

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by | November 4, 2013 · 6:53 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas And New Mexico Hotels Pay $78,000 To Settle Department Of Labor “Wage Violation Lawsuit”; Staff Paid Flat Rate Without Regard To Hours Worked

Investigators found that the MCM Elegante and MCM Grande Hotels paid housekeeping staff a flat rate per room cleaned, without regard to the Hospitality Industry Wage Violation Lawsuitsnumber of hours worked. When these employees worked more than 40 hours in a week, the employers continued to pay only this flat rate, failing to pay overtime at one and one-half times the employees’ regular rates of pay, as required by the FLSA. A housekeeper paid $3 per room, cleaning three rooms per hour, would earn $450 for a 50-hour week at the piece rate, without overtime. The employee would legally be due $495, a shortage of $45.

MCM Elegante and MCM Grande Hotels in New Mexico and Texas have paid $78,876 in overtime back wages to 200 dishwashers, bartenders, wait staff, bellmen, housekeeping, and maintenance workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

The investigation allegedly found overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employees in Albuquerque, New Mexico and several cities in Texas, were not properly paid wages they were due. The hotels are owned by HTL Operating LLC, based in Odessa, Texas.

As a result of the investigation, the employer has agreed to comply with the FLSA at all of its locations. It will pay the back wages found due in full.

For more:  http://compensation.blr.com/Compensation-news/Compensation/FLSA-Fair-Labor-Standards-Act/Hotel-employees-owed-79000-in-back-wages/#

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by | October 4, 2013 · 5:43 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued For Violating “Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)” By Firing Employee In Need Of Small Oxygen Tank; Obligation To Work With, Accomodate Her Disability

“… the 51-year-old (woman) filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Paddle Wheel Inn violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by dismissing Hospitality Industry ADA Lawsuitsher without attempting to accommodate her need for a small oxygen tank…The lawsuit also alleged that earlier this year the inn fired Colvin’s daughter, who also worked at the hotel as a desk clerk, just one day after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission substantiated Colvin’s claim of discrimination…Barry Taylor, Colvin’s attorney, said that under federal law the inn had an obligation to work with Colvin on a reasonable accommodation for her disability and should not have jumped to any conclusions about whether she would be able to perform her duties…”

Donna Colvin loved her job as the overnight desk clerk at the Paddle Wheel Inn, especially the quiet hours spent tidying the lobby and laying out the morning’s continental breakfast while guests were still fast asleep.

Even when respiratory ailments briefly sidelined her two years ago, Colvin was determined to keep working at the charming inn, situated on the banks of the Rock River about 90 miles west of Chicago. Heeding her doctor’s advice, Colvin informed the inn’s manager that she would have to be on oxygen while she worked. The next day, she learned by letter that she had been fired.

The suit contended the inn lied in its dismissal letter by telling Colvin she was being let go because she had failed to cover her shifts during several brief stints in the hospital.

“To assume that someone, just because they’re using oxygen, would be bad for business is really a knee-jerk reaction that is unwarranted,” said Taylor, an attorney for Equip for Equality, a disability rights legal advocacy organization based in Chicago.

For more:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-disabilities-lawsuit-20131004,0,2456004.story

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by | October 1, 2013 · 5:55 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Louisiana Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing Over $34,000 From “Night Deposits”; Altered “Drop Log” And Inflated “Reward Point System”

“…As a controller at the hotel, (the employee) had been responsible for removing and verifying nightly deposits cashiers made into the Hotel Employee Theftsafe. His duties included checking these funds against a corresponding drop log and hotel records…A total of 97 deposits were found to be missing $34,280.53, according to an arrest warrant…to further conceal the scheme, (he) also is accused of falsely inflating the hotel’s reward point system, a program that allows guests to redeem points for services…”

An employee at the Renaissance hotel in Baton Rouge is accused of stealing more than $34,000 from hotel safe deposits and altering financial records to cover his tracks, according to court records. East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies issued an arrest warrant for Matthew D. Dziadosz, 38, 8741 Pecan Tree Drive, on one count of felony theft. Detectives began an inquiry in June after an internal audit turned up discrepancies in the hotel’s deposits and accounting records.

“It was noted that varying amounts of cash were systematically removed from the daily dropped envelopes,” Detective Kevin Chenier wrote in the warrant.

Hotel records showed more than three dozen instances in which drop log entries had been altered and another 12 entries omitted entirely.

“This would have given the impression the employee had not dropped an envelope at all,” Chenier wrote.

In some instances, Dziadosz re-wrote an entire drop log, the warrant says. He had been expected to document erroneous or missing deposits, the warrant says, but made no reports “consistent with the volume of falsely reported errors or missing drops.”

For more:  http://theadvocate.com/news/7199061-123/hotel-employee-accused-of-pocketing

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by | September 26, 2013 · 5:44 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: New Jersey Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing “Wedding Reception Cash”; Used Freight Elevator To Avoid Surveillance Cameras And Enter Rooms

“…(the former employee), who was hired in May, apparently slipped up through the freight elevator so that he wouldn’t be detected by hotel Hospitality Industry Employee Crimesurveillance cameras and then used a swipe card to get into unoccupied newlywed suites…$770 was taken (in one incident) and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen…”

A since-fired bell hop at the Saddle Brook Marriott was arrested by local police last night and charged with slipping into the rooms of newlyweds at their receptions and snatching some of their wedding-gift cash.

Timothy Henriquez, 30, of Chester, NY, is charged with two counts of theft — for a July incident in which $770 was taken and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen. He was released on a summons pending a Municipal Court hearing, police said.

“Upon learning of his arrest, Marriott terminated his employment,” Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said.

For more: http://cliffviewpilot.com/saddle-brook-police-charge-hotel-employee-with-thefts-from-newlyweds-rooms/

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by | September 22, 2013 · 6:20 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Crime: New York Hotel Security Director Arrested For Arson After Setting A Series Of Small Fires In Hallways And Stairwells; “Working Vacation” While Hotel Was Shut Down For Repairs

“…(the suspect) was the director of security — and according to his  wife the fire safety director —- for the Yotel hotel near Times Square (and) Hospitality Industry Employee Crimeset a series of blazes that shut down the building for days, freeing him to get  liquored up on the job in guest rooms, FDNY sources said…(he) would light newspapers to set the rubbish fires late  at night or early in the morning while he was on duty…No one was injured in the  blazes, but the source said the small fires would also temporarily close the bars and  nightclubs inside…the hotel would then be  shut down for repairs, giving him a working vacation…”

City fire marshals arrested Barbosa, of West New York, N.J., on Friday,  charging him with setting five small rubbish blazes in the hallways, stairwells  and emergency exits at the Yotel on 10th Ave. over the past two years.

Before that, he allegedly set three fires at the Soho Grand Hotel on West  Broadway — where he worked as a security guard between 2009 and 2010 — including  one just before 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day that brought revelers’ celebrations to  an early close.

Wearing a dark navy suit and a white dress shirt, Barbosa was ordered held on  $50,000 bail. Manhattan prosecutors asked for $20,000, but the arraignment judge  upped the request.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/times-square-hotel-security-chief-arrested-setting-arson-fires-sources-article-1.1463370#ixzz2fdA5nlYl

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by | September 16, 2013 · 8:03 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotel “Housekeeper” App For Smartphones And Tablets Improves Staff Efficiency; “Room Status And Problems” Reported Directly To Property Management System

“…the new ‘Housekeeper’ application is proven to deliver an average 50% reduction in the time required to carry out housekeeping and hotel Hotel Technology Solutionssupport tasks, enhanced staff communication, as well as powerful reporting capabilities…with quicker response and improved communication with the housekeeping staff we are able to better serve our guests and get a real-time picture of the room status…”

Building on its growing range of mobile applications and cloud-based services, Housekeeper provides an alternative to Quadriga’s established, fixed TV-based housekeeping solution, integrated into its Sensiq guest communications and entertainment platform. The Hibox Housekeeper application is a web-based service which can be hosted in the cloud and provides hotel staff with easy and immediate reporting capabilities via most web-enabled mobile devices. Services include the reporting of room status to the hotel PMS, minibar usage and rooms fault reporting and management, as well as a staff messaging tool.

Housekeeper is already deployed in hotels across the Nordic region and is now available worldwide. Juha Peltonen, Hotel Manager at Hotel Haikko Manor, Porvoo, Finland, says, “The Housekeeper application gives us an easy-to-use tool to manage the housekeeping tasks. Also we are able to reduce the housekeeping costs with improved monitoring and reporting.”

For more:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4062156.html

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by | September 10, 2013 · 6:16 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Florida Hotel Violated Federal Wage & Labor Laws By Creating “Employment Relationship” By “Directly Supervising” Staffing Company Employees

“…investigators determined that the hotel was liable for repayment of back wages because hotel staff had directly supervised those employed Hospitality Industry Wage Violation Lawsuitsby the staffing agency, creating what Young referred to as “joint employment relationship”…generally the using company tries to avoid the responsibility of the employers by staying out of the direct supervision of the employees or payment…however, we found there was enough direct supervision by Castillo Real employees on the staffing company’s employees to then create an employment relationship…Based on that relationship the hotel was found liable for the repayment of back wages…”

The U.S. Department of Labor found that two-thirds of the staffing companies that provide employees to north Florida’s hospitality industry investigated as part of a new initiative were not in compliance with federal wage and labor laws.

According to a DOL release, the hotel will pay $17,890 in back wages after it was discovered that employees provided by staffing company Maja LLC regularly were not paid overtime after working more than 40 hours a week providing services such as housekeeping and laundering. Additionally, some weeks employees’ wages fell below the federally required minimum wage.

Michael Young, district director of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division’s Jacksonville District Office said the practice of using staffing companies to fill positions formerly managed by hotels themselves is becoming more prevalent across the country. The initiative looking into compliance among staffing companies was undertaken in four of the 10 districts in the Southeast.

For more:  http://news.wjct.org/post/investigation-finds-north-florida-hotels-violated-federal-labor-laws

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by | September 2, 2013 · 8:00 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Issues: “Becoming A Resume Lie Detector” From HospitalityLawyer.com

HospitalityLawyer Lodging and the ADA Webinar

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by | August 23, 2013 · 5:50 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Mississippi Hotel Sued For “Pregnancy Discrimination” By EEOC; Woman Fired On First Day Of Work After Informing Manager Of Pregnancy

“…According to the EEOC’s suit, (the employee) informed her manager of her pregnancy on her first day of work.  That evening, the manager terminated Harmon and replaced her with a non-pregnant employee, the EEOC said…”

EEOC“Employers cannot penalize women for choosing to have a family,” said Katharine W. Kores, district director of the EEOC’s Memphis District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee and portions of Mississippi.  “This agency will continue to work to eliminate this type of discriminatory conduct.”

Jiji, Inc., a Holiday Inn franchisee located in Batesville, Miss., violated federal law when it fired an employee because of her pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.  The EEOC filed suit, Civil Action No. 3:13-cv-00212, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Oxford Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.  The suit seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, reinstatement and injunctive relief.

Jiji, Inc. is a Mississippi corporation based in Batesville that owns, manages, and operates hotel facilities in Mississippi. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

For more:  http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/8-22-13.cfm

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