Legal - HospitalityLawyer.com®

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 ...

Protecting Privacy in Cross-Border Litigation

by Scott Giordano in Legal, Technology. Posted June 8, 2015

The Scope of the Problem For U.S.-based, multinational organizations, privacy statutes in foreign nations have become a minefield that threaten to disrupt the day-to-day operations taken for granted at home. In one case, officers of search engine giant Google were convicted in Italy for criminal privacy violations when a third party uploaded an unauthorized video to the entity’s video-on-demand ...

Let Me Take a Look at That Tattoo…

by Grace Horoupian in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Legal, Lodging. Posted June 8, 2015

There is no question that tattoos, body piercings, and other forms of self-expression have become commonplace in modern society, especially among the Gen X and Gen Y demographic. As a result, employers have to deal with these issues in the workplace, even in companies that traditionally have had conservative dress and appearance expectations such as ...

10 Steps to Prepare For an I-9 Audit

by Florian Dauny in Legal. Posted June 4, 2015

Immigration audits are on the rise. How can you ensure your restaurant complies? Many employers are unaware of the significance of the I-9 Form. This two-page form, once considered to be a “simple hiring form,” can carry hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential liability, as well as possible criminal penalties for managers and owners, ...

Deep-Fried Discrimination Claim: Lisa T. Jackson v. Paula Deen, et al.

by Craig Cowart in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Legal. Posted June 4, 2015

The whole country watched as celebrity chef Paula Deen was roasted over the lawsuit filed by a former general manager of a Deen-affiliated restaurant. Now that the media storm is starting to fade, what lessons can employers and human resources professionals learn from what happened? Keep reading for a recipe to keep you “out of the frying pan” ...

When is a Union Not a Union? When It’s a “Worker Center”

by Steve Bernstein in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Legal, Lodging. Posted June 4, 2015

When the word union is thrown around everyone seems to cringe. Steve Bernstein walks us through the ins and outs of what “worker centers” concept. The fast-food industry has fallen prey to coordinated demonstrations by a number of loosely affiliated groups, rallying around wages, benefits and other conditions. The strategy invoked by these so-called “worker centers ” (or ...

Can an Anonymous Tip Result in a Legal DUI Traffic Stop?

by Richard Blau in Legal. Posted June 4, 2015

The Gist One of the primary concerns of law enforcement generally, and state alcohol regulators in particular, is the war on drunk driving. Many law-related initiatives have been adopted over the years to fight the scourge of drunk driving. Over 20 years ago, the state-by-state campaign to lower the official Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) threshold used to determine ...

California Lifts Ban on Sale of Foie Gras

by Jordan Bernstein in Food & Beverage, Legal. Posted June 4, 2015

For the first time in two years, foie gras can be sold by retailers and gourmet California chefs can add the delicacy to their menus. A U.S. District Court judge yesterday ruled that the prohibition on the sale of the fatty liver dish violated the federal government’s regulatory domain. The judge based his decision on ...

Legal ( Page 36 )