2017 - HospitalityLawyer.com®

Where ‘Natural’ Takes on A Whole New Meaning

by Anderson Kill in Food & Beverage, Legal. Posted August 24, 2017

The term “natural” in the food and beverage industry has long been an effective selling point as U.S. consumers look to live healthier lifestyles. An issue, however, arises when the term is deployed to entice consumers, regardless of whether the product is in fact “natural” as an average person would understand the term. On that ...

Mislabeled Food Products Risk Allergic Reaction

by Jennifer Arledge in Food & Beverage. Posted August 22, 2017

About 80 percent of all food products are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates meat, poultry and egg products. Both agencies have regulations governing food production, labeling and recalls. Rarely does a week go by without reports of a food recall. The number of annual recalls ...

Inconsistent Performance Standards Dooms Defense Case

by Sid Steinberg in Human Resources, Legal. Posted August 19, 2017

Over the years, a consistent theme of this column has been that employers need to hold all employees, regardless of protected characteristic, to the same standard in order to avoid even the appearance of discrimination. These are generally “employment words to live by.” Realistically, however, managers often hold more senior employees to a higher standard ...

First Look at Google SOS Alerts

by Mark Dauner in Risk Management, Safety & Security, Technology. Posted August 12, 2017

Social media does a good job of delivering information quickly, but with so many sources – both official and unofficial – it is difficult to find the right signal in all the noise. When a crisis occurs, travelers don’t have time to sift through mountains of information to find what they need. Google’s new service, SOS ...

Contempt Is Nothing to Sneer At

by Anderson Kill in Legal. Posted August 10, 2017

Contempt remedies can be a useful tool to compel compliance with a court order, whether it be to produce certain documents, appear for a deposition, or otherwise comply with a valid and enforceable court order. The common understanding of the remedy is that courts and litigants use it to coerce noncompliant parties and nonparties to ...

Hotels Hit With Loyalty Program Patent Demand Letters

by Justin Bragiel in Hotel Development, Legal. Posted August 8, 2017

A number of hotels in Texas and around the U.S. are receiving alleged patent infringement demand letters related to hotel loyalty (rewards) programs. The demand letters were created by the organization “JBSHBM, LLC.,” and relate to allegations that a hotel is violating JBSHBM’s patent rights by participating in hotel brand loyalty programs. See a sample ...

How to Minimize Jet Lag Symptoms

by Melissa Dudley in Travel. Posted July 29, 2017

Circadian rhythm disruption occurs when the rhythm set by one’s biological clock is misaligned with the solar day and night cycle of the environment. One of the most acute disruptions to circadian rhythm is rapid travel across time zones – a phenomenon known as jet lag. Jet lag not only impacts individual travelers but can also ...

Workplace Harassment 101

by Daniel Deacon in Human Resources, Legal. Posted July 27, 2017

One lesson companies of all sizes can learn from the sexual harassment claims that Uber is facing is that an employer needs to set clear restrictions on harassment and make a conscious effort to hold employees accountable to those workplace standards. In particular, sexual harassment has been a significant issue in the workplace since men ...

The Sharing Economy And Discrimination Concerns: What Can You Do?

by Danielle Urban in Human Resources, Legal, Technology, Travel. Posted July 25, 2017

Recent studies have reported that race and gender disparities are not uncommon in the sharing economy. For example, it’s been reported that some gig workers were discriminating against customers with names that “sounded Black.” Women and workers of color are more likely to garner negative reviews from customers. And now, a recent study found that people ...

Summer is Here! Protect Yourself From the Heat

by Gabby Molinolo in Human Resources, Risk Management, Safety & Security. Posted July 20, 2017

With summer upon the Northern Hemisphere, the first heat waves have already caused disruptions. Excessive heat watches have been issued for southwestern US states and southern UK. While the range of temperatures are vastly different in both areas (43 C in the US compared to 33 C in the UK), it’s important to keep in mind that individuals ...

Yearly Archives: 2017 ( Page 5 )