Tag Archives: Legislation

by | March 13, 2012 · 9:18 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel Management Must Comply With Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Revisions Concerning Recreational Areas; Exercise Rooms, Saunas And Benches Are Areas Of Concern

New revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act are bringing hotel recreational areas under the watchful eye of the U.S. Department of Justice for the first time. And unlike other guidelines covered by the 1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, recreation areas do not qualify for safe harbor.

Exercise rooms:

  •  The key issue in exercise rooms is clearance space, the moderators said.
  • “At least one of each type of equipment is required to be on an accessible route and have clear floor space adjacent to the equipment so that somebody is able to park their mobility device there and then get out of that device and transfer or may be able to walk and get on to this piece of equipment,” Salmen said.
  • More than one piece of equipment can share the same clear floor space, he said.
  • “This is going to have implications on how your fitness rooms are laid out, and (in) a lot of small fitness rooms you will have to do rearranging or potentially may even have to lose a piece of equipment in order to try to provide these clear floor areas,” Anderson added.

Saunas and steam rooms:

  •  Hotels must have accessible routes into saunas and steam rooms. Further, they must have enough space within the rooms so guests with disabilities can turn around and get out, Salmen said.
  • “So doors have to be compliant as per the door criteria with 32 inches of minimum clear opening width. The pressure on that door can’t be more than five pounds. The thresholds for those doors have to be compliant,” he said.

Benches:

  •  Benches in hotel locker rooms and steam rooms can be as little as 42 inches with a depth of 20 inches to 24 inches, Salmen said.
  • “But in these new rules we are now required to have a maneuvering space in front of the bench and at one end of the bench so that it is (easier to slide over) from the wheelchair seat onto the seat of the bench,” he said.
  • Benches must be attached to a wall or provide a back rest so users will have something to lean against, Salmen added.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7732/ADA-standards-call-recreation-areas-into-focus

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by | February 13, 2012 · 10:34 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: The "2012 California Employment Law" Makes It Unlawful To "Misclassify Employees As Independent Contractors" With Severe Penalties Imposed

CLICK ON "CALIFORNIA" TO VIEW "2012 EMPLOYMENT LAW" UPDATE

For more:  http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=396703df-f68e-4468-8dc9-7bc9a9a6ee01

 

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by | February 9, 2012 · 1:57 am

Hospitality Industry Compliance Risks: Hotels Must Equip Pools And Spas With "Pool Lifts" To Comply With 2010 ADA Standards

The 2010 ADA Standards for pool access have significantly changed the requirements for municipal and private pools by requiring, for the first time, that they be equipped with independently useable pool lifts during all operating hours.

Since the DOJ announced its intention to require lifts in nearly all pools, the hotel industry and others have opposed or sought clarification of this provision.

In October, 2010, the American Hotel & Lodging Association sought clarification of the pool lift requirements which become mandatory on March 15, 2012. The AH&LA noted that pool lifts, particularly fixed devices, are potentially dangerous to users and children playing around pools. Moreover, they can be quite costly to most pool operators. The industry’s concerns apparently fell on deaf ears as evidenced by the DOJ’s position issued this week.

The DOJ has officially confirmed that:

  • The mandatory date for installation of pool lifts is March 15, 2012.
  • Pool lifts need to be installed at each pool during all operating times and be independently operable by disabled persons.
  • Pool lifts must be “fixed” unless the operator can prove that doing so would not be “readily achievable” as defined in the ADA, in which event, a portable lift meeting all of the ADA Guidelines could be deployed.
  • Accessible lifts cannot be shared between a pool and a spa, each would seem to require a separate device.
  • Pool lifts must be properly maintained and in good repair, with any battery components charged for use.
  • Staff must be trained in the use and safety of pool lifts.

For more:  http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2012/02/doj_flash_on_pool_lifts.html

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by | September 13, 2011 · 10:49 am

Hospitality Industry Information Security Risks: Senate Introduces "Personal Data Protection And Breach Accountability Act Of 2011" Forcing Companies To Secure Personal Data

“…Introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the Personal Data Protection and Breach Accountability Act of 2011 would force companies that hold online information for more than 10,000 people to follow strict guidelines to ensure the data is stored correctly…”

The U.S. Senate will consider a bill aimed at protecting citizens’ personal information from online data theft, and penalizing companies that don’t adequately store and safeguard their customers’ personal information.

The bill would impose fines on companies who don’t follow the guidelines and leave customer data open to compromise, and open the door for customers to sue companies that don’t adequately protect their data.

Blumenthal’s bill would put the U.S. government in line with states such as Massachusetts, which has legislation that fines companies that improperly protect residents’ digital data.

For more:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44491737/

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by | August 18, 2011 · 5:35 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Hotel And Lodging Groups Remain Opposed To Pending California Legislation "Mandating The Use Of Fitted Sheets"

“.. Senate Bill 432.. would create “new occupational safety and health standards for all hotels, motels and other similar transient lodging establishments in California…”

“.. It would mandate the “use of fitted sheets … on the bottom sheet on all beds” at such lodging. And it would mandate the “use of long-handled tools,” such as mops, to reduce stooping “to clean bathroom floors, walls, tubs, toilets and other bathroom surfaces…”

 “A 2009 report in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine found that housekeepers have higher (7.87 per 100) injury rates than other hotel workers…”

The California Hotel & Lodging Association pointed out that the medical study didn’t even mention fitted sheets as culprit in the injuries. And it charged it would cost up to $50 million to replace the regular sheets with fitted sheets. Mr. Hayes said the high number is “a bunch of nonsense” and that Sen. De Leon and other legislators are working on the bill to “find a way to implement it without added costs,” within the hotels’ economic structure.

He said the major hotels are in favor of working for a compromise bill. But the association remains adamant against any bill. And he said that, as only about 10 percent of housekeepers are unionized, including the sheet rules in future contracts wouldn’t help much.

For more:  http://articles.ocregister.com/2011-08-16/news/29897915_1_sheets-housekeepers-hotel-workers

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by | August 2, 2011 · 6:38 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Injury Risks: California Legislation Requiring "Fitted Sheets" On Hotel Beds To Reduce Heavy-Lifting By Housekeepers Is Up For Vote This Month By State Assembly

“…(California) SB 432.. would require hotels to use fitted sheets instead of flat sheets to reduce the amount of mattress lifting housekeepers must do. The legislation also would require hotels to provide long-handled mops so housekeepers won’t have to clean bathrooms on their hands and knees as they do now…”

The state Senate has passed a bill proposed by Sen. Kevin de LeÏŒn (D-Los Angeles) that would help prevent or reduce housekeeper injuries. It comes up for a vote in the Assembly this month. But the bill is facing stiff opposition from the hotel and tourism industry, which says it will increase costs and stifle growth.

A representative of the hotel industry, led by the California Hotel and Lodging Assn., told a Senate Committee that if SB 432 passes, California hotels will have to spend an additional $15 million or more to buy fitted sheets to replace the sheets for 550,000 beds at $25 per sheet. But hotels generally replace their sheets annually..

For more:  http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-cohen-maids-20110802,0,7847167.story

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by | May 26, 2011 · 9:21 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety Risks: Hotel Housekeepers And Staff May Wear "Electronic Panic Buttons" To Protect Against Assault If New York Legislation Is Passed

“New York hotel workers would have electronic “panic buttons” under a new bill proposed after then-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid…”

“…Hotel workers needing urgent help could use the panic buttons to contact the hotel’s front desk or its security, then police could be called if necessary…”

“…assaults may be undercounted, experts say, since workers may fear being sacked and employers, mindful of insurance, might not want to report assaults that are not severe….”

 Assemblyman Lancman, who chairs the Assembly’s subcommittee on workplace safety, said attacks on hotel maids and housekeepers were relatively common although he had no data to support that.

In 2009, 100 hotel maids were assaulted—70 by people, 30 by animals—according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But assaults may be undercounted, experts say, since workers may fear being sacked and employers, mindful of insurance, might not want to report assaults that are not severe. 

Hotel companies are examining security protocols following the incident, industry executives said on Tuesday.

 For more:  http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20110525/NEWS01/110529923

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by | April 30, 2010 · 6:18 am

Hotel Security And Legal Issues: Municipalities Are Considering Enacting Legislation Which Would Force Hotels To Obtain Photo ID From Guests Or Be Fined

A proposed law before Ocean City’s Town Council would force resort hotels and motels to obtain photo ID from guests, or else face a $1,000 fine.

The board of Ocean City’s Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association unanimously opposes the idea, said HMRA executive director Susan Jones. She said having each and every guest show photo ID would be “cumbersome,” but that a majority of hotels already ask for it.

“We found it a little too intrusive,” she said. “What we were most against in that part of the ordinance was a fine, because how can you tell somebody how to run their business? That’s not a public safety issue.”

“Obviously, we want to work with the police, but in its current written form, we couldn’t support it,” she added.

The matter was on the Town Council’s agenda for this week’s meeting, but it was postponed without discussion.

Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino says it is a matter of public safety.

She asked resort leaders to consider the law as a proactive community policing idea –a tool, she said, meant to help identify any hotel guest suspected of committing a crime. It also would be a measure helping homeland security, she said.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100428/WCT01/4280429

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by | February 24, 2010 · 6:35 am

Workers’ Compensation In California: Next California Governor Will Face Challenges To States Workers’ Compensation Reform

(From a Sacramenton Bee article) When Arnold Schwarzenegger deigns to catalog his accomplishments, reforming the state’s system of compensating workers for job-related injuries and illnesses ranks high on his list.

One of Schwarzenegger’s first acts six years ago was bulldozing the Legislature into a sweeping overhaul of workers’ compensation, reducing both eligibility for direct payments to disabled workers and medical care costs.

The system is so large that the legislation and the administration’s subsequent implementation rules cut employers’ costs by about $15 billion a year, or approaching $100 billion so far.

Workers’ comp politics being what they are, however, the changes generated fierce opposition from those on the other end of the pipeline, namely unions, disability attorneys and medical care providers.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/22/2554129/dan-walters-workers-comp-battle.html

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by | February 23, 2010 · 8:32 am

Hospitality Industry Conferences: 2010 American Hotel & Lodging Association “Legislative Action Summit” To Be Held March 15-16 In Washington, D.C.

2010 AH&LA Legislative Action Summit
March 15-16, 2010
J.W. Marriott Hotel
Washington, D.C.

Join other AH&LA members from across the country in the U.S. lodging industry’s annual legislative summit. Come to the AH&LA Legislative Action Summit in Washington, D.C., during March 15-16, 2010, and make a difference through coordinated visits to Capitol Hill to share your perspective to lawmakers on key issues affecting your own workplace.

This is your chance to visit your Senators and Representative and let them know your opinion on pending legislation. There is no better opportunity for hoteliers to come make a big difference on the legislation that matter most to you in 2010: economic recovery, hotel taxes, healthcare reform, card check, and travel promotion.

At the 2010 LAS, you will gain insights from lawmakers and top industry executives on how impending legislation will impact your business decisions. LAS’s Industry CEO panel will feature an in-depth discussion on issues from these top industry leaders:

• Jim Abrahamson, President, The Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group
• Steve Joyce, President & CEO, Choice Hotels International
• David Kong, President & CEO, Best Western International Inc.
• Christopher Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton Worldwide

With the economy, healthcare, and card check legislation on the table during the 2010 election year, Congress needs to hear your point of view.

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