Legal - HospitalityLawyer.com®

Overseas Business Travel Liability and the Duty of Care in Times of Ebola

by Don Dowling in Legal, Safety & Security, Travel. Posted December 5, 2014

As of late 2014, the United States faced no Ebola pandemic whatsoever. The odds of catching Ebola in an American workplace remained statistically zero. Only a handful of Ebola cases had made their way to the United States, and a few hospitals aside, every American workplace remained Ebola-free. Only two employees had caught Ebola on an American job site—both ...

Employment Law Toolkit for Cross-Border M&A Deals

by Don Dowling in Human Resources, Legal. Posted November 23, 2014

Some years ago, a leading London corporate lawyer told The New York Times that in “merging two regular companies…you just do it and sort out the people issues afterwards.” (A. Sorkin, “A Lawyer’s Lawyer: Bridging Borders,” March 26, 2000) If that was ever true, it no longer is. In any merger or acquisition between two employers, especially in ...

An Employer Should Never Ask About Disability Or Religion. Except When It Should.

by Robin Shea in Human Resources, Legal. Posted October 12, 2014

Everybody knows that an employer should never, ever, ever ask an applicant about religion or disability until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. And maybe not even then. Right? Right? Well, mostly right. But, as a couple of EEOC lawsuits show, there may be times when you have to make an exception ...

The Path to Supply Chain Transparency

by David Linich in Legal. Posted October 6, 2014

In 1904, Upton Sinclair spent two months in Chicago’s “Packingtown” uncovering horrific details about the meat-packing industry, which he portrayed in the classic book The Jungle. Public outrage over The Jungle prompted two new laws—the Food and Drug Act1 and the Meat Inspection Act2—that became early drivers of supply chain transparency in the United States. More than ...

E-Mails: Don’t think Electronic, think EVIDENCE!

by Michelle Lee Flores in Human Resources, Legal, Technology. Posted October 6, 2014

If there was one thing I wish that every business owner, manager and employee would take away when thinking about this article and the modern workplace, it is that e-mails are forever. And not only are they forever, but they pack a double punch since their impact is instantaneous. All it takes is a simple ...

Guest Room Privacy and the Fourth Amendment

by Roger Hillman in Legal, Lodging. Posted September 25, 2014

Hotels are faced with a delicate balancing act when it comes to maintaining guest privacy. Hotel staff must comply with police investigations when noncompliance would constitute obstruction of justice. At the same time, hotel employees must recognize their guests’ Fourth Amendment right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. If hotel employees comply with ...

Is Your Employment Practices Liability Insurance Covering the Right Risks?

by Darin McMullen in Human Resources, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal, Risk Management. Posted September 23, 2014

While no employer is immune from employment-related lawsuits, particularly in a sluggish economy, the hospitality industry faces unique, yet recurring, challenges in terms of employment-based claims – and thus is particularly reliant on employment practices liability insurance (EPLI). Because the hospitality industry is among the leaders in workplace diversity, discrimination claims based on race, gender, ...

NLRB’s McDonald’s Joint Employer Decision Sends Shock Waves Through Franchise Community

by William J. Flannery in Hotel Development, Human Resources, Legal. Posted September 15, 2014

On August 5, 2014 the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) Office of General Counsel announced that it was authorizing complaints against both McDonald’s store owners and corporate McDonald’s USA LLC, as joint employers, in a series of unfair labor practice proceedings arising out of last autumn’s minimum wage protest actions against the fast food industry. McDonald’s was the ...

ADA Interactive Process: A Quiz for Employers

by Robin Shea in Human Resources, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal. Posted July 29, 2014

What do you really know about the “interactive process” under the Americans with Disabilities Act? This is one area in which I am always getting questions, and I think it’s the terminology that scares employers. “Interactive process” sounds so intimidating. Instead of ”interactive process,” it should be called “sit-down.” When an individual needs a reasonable accommodation, ...

New Employment Protections for LGBT Employees of Federal Contractors, U.S. Government

by Jason Cabrera in Human Resources, Legal. Posted July 28, 2014

President Obama signed an Executive Order on July 21, 2014 that gave new protections against discrimination to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees of federal contractors and subcontractors, and the federal government. For the federal government, discrimination was already prohibited on the basis of sexual orientation and is now also prohibited on the basis ...

Legal ( Page 36 )