Monthly Archives: November 2016

Is Your Hotel Security Staff Exposing You to Liability?

BY DAVID M. SAMUELS, ALICIA O’BRIEN Are you a hotel owner and/or operator who employs a private security staff? If so, do not let administrative inattention threaten your business. Take a few key steps to reduce your potential liability. California regulations effective since 2011 require that all hoteliers employing their own security guards must be ...
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FLSA Exemption Changes and the Election

Many employers are wondering whether Donald Trump’s election means that they may now forget about the coming [exemption] changes in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s “white collar” definitions. The answer is clear:  The election results do not suspend or reverse those changes. The Countdown Continues By their own terms, the new regulations are scheduled ...
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White House Pushes for Ban on Non-Competes

The enforceability of employee restrictions on competition has traditionally been up the states, with some, like California, largely banning such agreements, while others, like Texas, allowing them with reasonable limitations. On Tuesday, October 25, the White House took the unprecedented step of calling on state legislatures to ban non-competes […]. A news report on the ...
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Medical Marijuana and the Workplace

Dazed and Confused: How Upcoming Ballot Measures and Cases of Interest Continue to Change the Legal Landscape around Marijuana California’s Compassionate Use Act (CUA) of 1996 decriminalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. However, it did not legalize marijuana. It only shields medical users and caregivers from criminal liability. Recently, Governor Brown signed into ...
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Chicago Passes Short-Term Rental Ordinance

The City of Chicago enacted an ordinance that regulates Chicago’s shared housing and vacation rental industry (shared housing ordinance). The shared housing ordinance imposes regulations, registration and licensing requirements, booking surcharges, and reporting requirements on short-term residential rental intermediaries and advertising platforms. Hosts that operate more than one short-term rental in Chicago are also subject ...
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New IRS Safe Harbors for Publicly-Financed Properties Help Hotel Industry

The IRS recently issued new guidance on safe harbor provisions in management contracts for publicly-owned, bond-financed properties. These safe harbor provisions affect a variety of real estate assets including hotels and other privately managed public properties. On August 22, 2016, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2016-44, which provides new guidance on safe harbor provisions for management ...
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