Cozen O'Connor - HospitalityLawyer.com®

Pensive Asian bar owner using laptop to pay bills online

Virtual Form I-9 Inspection Pilot Program for Non-E-Verify Employers

by Cozen O'Connor in Human Resources, Legal. Posted August 31, 2023

On August 3, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a new pilot program for virtual Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification inspections that would apply to employers not currently enrolled in E-Verify. This proposed new rule will be open for comments for the next 60 days before its planned implementation into the Federal Register. ...

Shame & Game That May Be Unsettling Cases in the Hospitality Space

by Cozen O'Connor in Legal. Posted June 15, 2022

What do hospitality establishments face when settlement is attempted? This paper focuses on present day sins that lead to unsettlement based on the last two years in a pandemic and the games that parties seem to play to continue this trend. A. Seven deadly trends sins in hospitality since 2020 I interviewed coworkers, mediators and ...

Employers Should Prepare for Wave of COVID-Related Wrongful Death Lawsuits

by David Barron in Coronavirus (COVID-19), Human Resources, Legal. Posted September 29, 2020

The latest projections estimate that nearly 300,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 by the end of 2020. Many of those individuals will be employed when they contract the virus, and a significant number will be workers in front line businesses such as retail, manufacturing, or healthcare, where the risk of exposure is significant. Faced with ...

New York AG Files Lawsuit Against Dunkin’ Donuts For Attacks On Customer Accounts

by Brian Kint in Food & Beverage, Legal, Technology. Posted November 28, 2019

On September 26, 2019, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Dunkin’ Brands, Inc., the franchisor of Dunkin’ Donuts (“Dunkin’”). The lawsuit involves security issues surrounding Dunkin’s stored value cards, which customers can use to purchase Dunkin’ food and merchandise. Customers can create an online account through Dunkin’s website or mobile app, ...

Five Tips for Protecting Your Company’s Trade Secrets

by David Barron in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal. Posted September 6, 2018

Protecting your trade secrets and proprietary information is a vital part of your business. Every company needs to have policies and agreements in place to prevent employees from stealing property, and wrongfully soliciting your employees and customers when they leave to work for a competitor. Equally important, you must ensure that newly hired employees understand ...

Workplace Violence Fatalities Up in 2016

by John Ho in Human Resources, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Risk Management, Safety & Security. Posted April 26, 2018

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published workplace fatality statistics for 2016 showing a 7-percent increase from 2015. Within this increase, workplace violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased 23 percent to become the second-most common fatal event in 2016. This increase represents an additional 163 cases to 866 in 2016. Workplace homicides ...

Performance Evaluations Can Pose Trouble for Employers

by David Barron in Human Resources. Posted December 19, 2017

It’s that time of year again. You know the one. Supervisors hurriedly completing performance evaluations at the last minute to avoid nasty emails from the HR Department about missed deadlines. Sound familiar? If so, your company may be doing more harm than good. Evaluations are not a time for hurried compliance. These documents are important ...

Cybersecurity Best Practices — How General Counsel Can Prepare For The Worst

by Cozen O'Connor in Legal, Risk Management, Safety & Security, Technology. Posted November 16, 2017

Take note GCs: The question is not if you will have to respond to a cybersecurity incident—the question is when. That was the message from speakers and panelists at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s annual meeting this year. Indeed, the majority of all U.S. businesses have experienced at least one cybersecurity incident in the last year, with some ...

An Often Overlooked Tool in Workplace Safety Prevention: The Near-Miss Investigation

by John Ho in Insurance & Loss Prevention, Risk Management, Safety & Security. Posted October 11, 2017

OSHA defines a near miss as an incident in which no property was damaged and no personal injury was sustained, but where, given a slight shift in time or position, damage or injury easily could have occurred. Put simply, someone got lucky. Because there was no damage, these near miss incidents are often ignored or ...

The Importance of Reporting Workplace Injuries

by John Ho in Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal, Safety & Security. Posted October 3, 2017

There are some OSHA lessons to be learned and things to think about from the recent Third Department case in Silvestri v. New York City Transit Authority, 2017 N.Y Slip Op 06123 (August 10, 2017). In Silvestri, the Third Department affirmed a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Board that the widow of a deceased employee working at ...

Cozen O’Connor