Legal - HospitalityLawyer.com®

Warrantless Searches of Hotel Guest Registers

by James Eiler in Legal, Lodging. Posted June 24, 2015

Many municipalities have enacted ordinances that authorize local police agencies to enter a hotel during regular business hours and request an inspection of the guest register to obtain information as to who is in the hotel, when they checked in and their anticipated check out time, how long the guest has stayed in the hotel, ...

What’s on the Menu?

by Faegre Baker Daniels in Food & Beverage, Legal. Posted June 24, 2015

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently released two final rules for menu and vending machine labeling. “Nutrition Labeling of Standard Menu Items in Restaurants and Similar Retail Food Establishments” significantly expands FDA’s regulatory reach into restaurants and beyond. The rule stems from the Affordable Care Act and the compliance date is Dec. 1. FaegreBD ...

Like It or Love It: How Not to Get Pinned (Legally) When Using Social Media to Promote Your Brand

by Philip Nulud in Food & Beverage, Legal, Lodging, Technology. Posted June 17, 2015

Twitter®, Instagram®, Facebook®, Pinterest® and other social media websites and apps are great ways to interact with friends, family and potential customers. They are great avenues for advertising and promotion of one’s business and brand. A brand owner can share their latest offerings, get people excited about new products, develop brand awareness, etc.—the possibilities are ...

Reducing the “Insider Threat” Risk

by Steve Cocco in Human Resources, Legal, Safety & Security. Posted June 15, 2015

We recently provided guidance on reducing the all hazards threat to small business. Readers may remember that we touched on physical threats to your infrastructure and equipment stemming from broken or damaged structures, debris in hallways or access routes, faulty electrical lines, etc. We made brief mention of the “insider threat” but did not dwell ...

Why Would Employees Tease About Nooses In 2013?

by Howard Mavity in Human Resources, Legal. Posted June 9, 2015

It was surprising and disappointing to read about a punitive damages award against a North Carolina employer who allegedly tolerated employees referring to an African-American coworker as a “coon” and offering him a hangman’s noose. It’s 2013, not 1960. It’s bad enough when one has to defend against fabricated allegations about racial slurs and name calling, ...

Sixth Circuit Finds All Anti-retaliation Provisions are not Created Equal, but they are Legal Landmines

by Sara Jodka in Human Resources, Legal. Posted June 9, 2015

Generally speaking, employment-related retaliation laws prohibit employers from taking adverse actions against employees who engage in protected conduct, like complaining about discrimination or harassment, or for participating in a governmental investigation. There is no doubt anti-retaliation laws serve a good purpose, but did you know there are at least 40 different federal anti-retaliation laws? This ...

Employment Law Litigation: Count the Cost Before Waging the War

by Richard Meneghello in Legal. Posted June 9, 2015

When Sun Tzu wrote “The Art of War” in the sixth century B.C., he probably wasn’t thinking about how his advice would apply to employment law litigation in the 21st century, but he might as well have. One of his most famous quotes from that epic military treatise is “Those who wish to fight must ...

Due Diligence – Standard Operating Procedures: Don’t Play Russian Roulette with Your Business

by Jeff Nelken in Food & Beverage, Legal. Posted June 9, 2015

In order for a restaurant to run smoothly and deliver excellence on a consistent basis, Standard Operating Procedures (“SOPs”) and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (“SSOPs”) are an integral part of the business. No matter whether you’re a corporate chain or an independent owner/operator, it behooves you to take a moment to think about your SOPs and SSOPs. You have ...

Anatomy of a Hotel Breach – UPDATED

by Sandy Garfinkel in Legal, Technology. Posted June 8, 2015

Data breach incidents have dominated the news in 2014, and they are only becoming more frequent and damaging. Every industry and every type of business has been a victim of cyber intruders or other types of data loss or theft. Information criminals take everything from sensitive corporate trade secrets to customer or employee personal information, ...

Improper Tip Pooling Targeted in Class Action Lawsuits

by Linda Enghagen in Hotel Development, Human Resources, Legal. Posted June 8, 2015

The use of class action lawsuits against large corporations over allegedly illegal tip pooling arrangements is increasingly common. This work examines the use of class action lawsuits for this type of lawsuit and analyzes two recent cases from Massachusetts and New York targeting the legality of Starbucks’ tip-pooling policy under the laws of each state ...

Legal ( Page 33 )