Tag Archives: Restaurants

by | December 20, 2012 · 9:57 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Minnesota Restaurant Kitchen Fire Results In Extensive Equipment, Inventory And Water Damage

An insurance adjuster was on the site to assess the damage…based on how the bids come in to repair damage and replace equipment and inventory, the determination would be made about fixing and opening again.

Restaurant Fire“…the Red-wood Falls Fire Department called Thursday night to put out the fire and then called back Friday and Saturday to address persistent smoldering… the sprinklers went off water damage also became an issue…three inches of water that had to be removed…”

At 6:30 p.m. this past Thursday, a Christmas party was being held at The Rusty Bucket. About that time Oman noticed something that would dramatically change what she would be doing for the next few months. “I noticed there were flames coming out from behind the broiler,” she said.

After attempts were made to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, it was determined the fire was not going down.
So, everyone in the facility was sent out of the building, and Oman called 911. Just four days later Oman stood looking at the damage that fire caused to the entire restaurant and bar.

For more:  http://www.redwoodfallsgazette.com/article/20121219/NEWS/121219465/1001/NEWS

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by | December 17, 2012 · 7:00 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Superstorm Sandy "Flood Insurance Claims" In New York And New Jersey Exceed Total For Hurricane Katrina In 2005; Federal Flood Insurance Program Only Product Available

The NFIP provides insurance for homes and businesses in flood prone areas, such as Cape May County. Created in 1969 to fill the gap after private insurers declined to continue coverage for property owners in flood-prone flood insuranceareas, it now covers more than 5.6 million policyholders in 21,000 flood-prone communities.

“The federal flood insurance product is the only product available,” 

By the end of the second day after Superstorm Sandy’s powerful storm surge overwhelmed coastal areas of New York and New Jersey, the National Flood Insurance Program had already recorded more flood claims than the total for Hurricane Katrina, a storm that devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005.

William McMahon III, president of the McMahon Agency Insurance in Ocean City, said Sandy has since far surpassed the notorious Katrina.

Katrina, he said, delivered both flood and wind damage. Sandy’s damage was primarily from flooding. Few claims, he said, have been filed for wind damage.

Not long after Katrina, Hurricane Wilma tore across southern Florida, causing massive destruction.

“Wilma was a small storm. It came across the state from the gulf blowing about 70 mph, but the wind did major damage by the time it hit Miami,” McMahon said. “The wind ripped through all the high rises with 100 mph winds.”

In the wake of those two storms, barely two months apart, insurance companies bailed out of writing property and casualty insurance policies in some areas of Florida. The state of Florida, he said, instituted its own carrier, Citizens, now the largest underwriter in the state.

Florida and Louisiana, he said, are the two most difficult states to obtain property insurance. While flood insurance is available in Florida, it is expensive, particularly close to the coast.

For more: http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/news/index.php/ocean-city-general-news/32569-flood-insurance-claims-from-sandy-top-katrina.html

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by | December 16, 2012 · 9:14 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance Risks: Pending Legislation Before Congress Deals With Medicare Payments, Workers' Compensation And Liability Insurance Claims

“…the Medicare Secondary Payer and Workers’ Compensation Settlement Agreements Act of 2012…deals only with workers’ compensation claims, and seeks to establish clear and consistent rules for workers’ workers comp medicalcompensation set-asides for claimants covered by Medicare…”

“…The Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act…deals with issues related to the Medicare Secondary Payment Act. Specifically, it deals with mandates for providing timely information on conditional payments, penalties and statutes of limitations when claims are reported to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by insurers and self-insured and third-party payers on no-fault auto-insurance claims, workers’ compensation claims, and claims under liability insurance…”

Insurance and related industries are seeking to win support in the waning days of the current Congress for two pieces of legislation dealing with payment of injured worker claims to people whose primary insurance is Medicare. Officials of both the American Insurance Association and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America are urging action on the bills this year.

Nathaniel Wienecke, PCI senior vice president, Wednesday asked officials of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee if it could act on the bill this year.

Currently, workers’ compensation claims that overlap with Medicare coverage are subject to lengthy, cumbersome review by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish the proper “set-side” coverage amounts for future medical expenses, according to PCI officials.

For more:  http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2012/12/14/insurance-reps-push-for-action-on-medicare-seconda?t=commercial

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by | December 15, 2012 · 12:59 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Restaurant Owners Should Provide Comprehensive Employee Handbooks That Describe Employees' Rights, Expectations And Company Obligations

Small Business AdministrationAn employee handbook is an important communication tool between you and your employees. A well-written handbook sets forth your expectations for your employees, and describes what they can expect from your company. It also should describe your legal obligations as an employer, and your employees’ rights. This guide will help you write an employee handbook, which typically includes the topics below.

Anti-Discrimination Policies

Compensation

Work Schedules

  • Work hours and schedules
  • Attendance, punctuality and reporting absences
  • Guidelines for flexible schedules and telecommuting.

Standards of Conduct

  • Dress code and ethics
  • Legal obligations

General Employment Information

Safety and Security

For more: http://www.sba.gov/content/employee-handbooks

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by | December 13, 2012 · 7:42 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Restaurants In "Well-Known Tourist Areas" Investigated By U.S. Dept. Of Labor Agree To Pay $670,000 In "Unpaid Minimum Wages And Overtime"

“…(Wage and Hour Division investigators)…found widespread labor violations among restaurants in well-known tourist areas in San Francisco and throughout Los Angeles County…culture of noncompliance Hospitality Industry Wage and Hour Litigationadversely impacts the wages and working conditions of many low-wage, vulnerable workers…”

Wage and Hour Division investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor conducted comprehensive reviews of payroll records and employment practices in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, in addition to employee interviews, and found that restaurants were violating minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions.

As a result, 273 restaurant workers will divvy up $672,333 in unpaid minimum wages and overtime compensation, according to the feds.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, as well as time-and-a-half of their regular rates for hours worked over 40 per week. The law also says employers must keep accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the law. If employers don’t abide by these rules, they are liable to pay back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to employees.

For more:  http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/12/restuarant_workers_wage_and_hour_division.php

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by | December 12, 2012 · 7:22 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Illinois Restaurant Manager Charged With Stealing Over $10,000 In Employee Paycheck Scam; Forged Names On Bogus Paychecks

“…she allegedly used information records of at least four former workers to pull off the scam, which came to light only after one of those former workers took concerns to the restaurant’s owner…created the accounts, employee theft“clocked in” workers to show they worked certain hours and then forged their names on the resulting paychecks…”

The manager of the Jerseyville McDonald’s restaurant was charged this week, accused of theft for allegedly using former workers’ information to create bogus paychecks that she cashed for herself.

The amount of money involved is likely in the tens of thousands of dollars, although Jersey County State’s Attorney Ben Goetten said the case still is being investigated.

“This should be a wake-up call to other business owners out there,” he told The Telegraph.

Officially, the amount of money taken is listed in the charge as between $10,000 and $100,000.

The alleged victim, Lora Dover of Carrollton, said she became alarmed after being told by Medicaid that she was not eligible for her latest disability check because of unreported income from 2012. Turns out, she had not worked at the McDonald’s in 2012.

For more:  http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/local/article_8692a192-43e5-11e2-b4f6-001a4bcf6878.html

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by | December 10, 2012 · 7:05 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: California Restaurant Fire Caused By "Improperly Stored Oily Rags" Catching Fire; 10 Propane Tanks Explode

“…Oily rags ignited a Sunday morning fire that caused several propane tanks to explode at the Gingham restaurant owned by a celebrity chef…the rags were balled up and tossed in a bin when they should have been Restaurant Firelaid out to dry and stored in a properly approved container…”

Most of the estimated $50,000 in damage occurred in the exterior courtyard between Gingham and the shop next door, McCrea Music Company. The businesses reside between La Mesa Boulevard and Allison Avenue.

Initial reports at 5:48 a.m. were of a rubbish fire behind the restaurant. When fire crews arrived three minutes later, the flames were 10 feet high and firefighters witnessed multiple explosions of propane tanks. In all, as many as 10 of the 35 tanks stored behind the restaurant exploded.

Battalion Chief Bent Koch said it appeared that the cleaning rags from the restaurant, which were stored in a container outside, had spontaneously combusted.

For more: http://www.nctimes.com/fire-at-la-mesa-s-gingham-restaurant/article_a596c7f7-4b96-5250-8d65-5e8532cf6144.html

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by | December 9, 2012 · 7:29 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Iowa Restaurant Linked To Meat Contaminated By E. Coli That Nearly Killed Woman; Beef Processing Plant Used Mechanical Tenderizer

“…Although blading and injecting marinades into meat add value for the beef industry, that also can drive pathogens — including the E. coli O157:H7 that destroyed Lamkin’s colon — deeper into the meat…if it isn’t Risks of E. coli contamination in restaurant beefcooked sufficiently, people can get sick. Or die.

Big Beef and other processors are co-mingling ground beef from many different cattle, some from outside the United States, adding to the difficulty for health officials to track contaminated products to their source. The industry has resisted labeling some products, including mechanically tenderized meat, to warn consumers and restaurants to cook it thoroughly.

Three years ago, at age 87, Lamkin was forced to begin wearing a colostomy bag for the rest of her life after a virulent meat-borne pathogen destroyed her large colon and nearly killed her. What made her so sick? A medium-rare steak she ate nine days earlier at an Applebee’s restaurant.

Lamkin, like most consumers today, didn’t know she had ordered a steak that had been run through a mechanical tenderizer. In a lawsuit, Lamkin said her steak came from National Steak Processors Inc., which claimed it got the contaminated meat from a U.S. plant run by Brazilian-based JBS — the biggest beef packer in the world.

“You trust people, trust that nothing is going to happen,” said Lamkin, who feels lucky to be alive at 90, but beef companies “are mass-producing this and shoveling it into us.”

The Kansas City Star investigated what the industry calls “bladed” or “needled” beef, and found the process exposes Americans to a higher risk of E. coli poisoning than cuts of meat that have not been tenderized. The process has been around for decades, but while exact figures are difficult to come by, USDA surveys show that more than 90 percent of beef producers are now using it.

Mechanically tenderized meat is increasingly found in grocery stores, and a vast amount is sold to family-style restaurants, hotels and group homes. The American Meat Institute, an industry lobbying group, has defended the product as safe but recently said it can’t comment further until it sees results of an assessment by the meat safety division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/12/08/4469815/mechanical-tenderizers-linked.html#storylink=cpy

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by | December 8, 2012 · 7:20 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Restaurant Sued For Negligence By Woman Who Slipped On "Wet And Slick Floor"; Lawsuit Seeks $50,000 In Medical Costs And Damages

“…as she was walking to the restroom, (the woman) slipped on a wet and slick floor…she suffered severe pain slip_and_fall accidentand discomfort, incurred medical costs and endured damages of more than $50,000, the suit states…”

A woman claims she suffered severe injuries after she slipped and fell on a wet floor at a restaurant. Janet L. Althoff filed a lawsuit Nov. 26 in Madison County Circuit Court against Ali Veseli doing business as Round Table Family Restaurant.

Althoff claims she was visiting Round Table at about 2:30 p.m. on March 9 when she walked from a dining room to a unisex restroom.

Althoff blames Veseli for causing her injuries, saying the restaurant negligently failed to correct the unsafe condition and failed to warn of the wet floor. In her complaint, Althoff seeks an unspecified judgment, plus other relief the court deems just.

For more:  http://madisonrecord.com/issues/366-personal-injury/250097-round-table-family-restaurant-sued-by-woman-who-claims-she-slipped-on-wet-floor

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by | December 6, 2012 · 8:01 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurant Dishes And Silverware Cleaning And Sanitation Methods "Fall Short Of Eliminating Norovirus" According To Research Study

“Norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis and the major cause of foodborne illness in the United States…proper sanitation and handling remain the single biggest factor that can prevent cross-norovirus outbreak hotelscontamination of food and dishware at food service establishments…better agents or methods (are needed) to significantly reduce the presence of norovirus…”

Restaurant dishes and silverware may be an overlooked place where people can catch stomach viruses, according to a new study published December 5, 2012 on the PLOS One website.

While the current industry guidelines for cleaning dishware used in public settings are effective at neutralizing bacteria, researchers at The Ohio State University found that they appear to fall short of eliminating norovirus.

Norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis and the major cause of foodborne illness worldwide, responsible for at least 50% of all gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States.

For more:  http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0050273#s5

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