Harassment

Circle from wooden figures and red figure. Discrimination or harassment concept.

EEOC Issues Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment and Addresses LGBTQ and Racial Employment Issues

by John S. Lord Jr in Human Resources, Legal, Safety & Security. Posted November 16, 2023

Sexual orientation, gender identity, and race continue to be widely discussed and politicized throughout the U.S. Issues related to these protected categories also continue to arise in the workplace. The EEOC recently issued proposed enforcement guidance that will help employers address emerging issues related to these categories, including issues related to employee conflict at work. For example, ...

Are Hospitality Employees Facing A Harassment Pandemic?

by Andria Ryan in Coronavirus (COVID-19), Food & Beverage, Lodging. Posted January 14, 2021

The coronavirus economy has brought many unforeseen challenges for the hospitality sector, one of which seems to be an increase in harassing conduct directed at service workers by patrons. According to a recent study by the nonprofit organization One Fair Wage, 41% of the 1,675 service workers surveyed reported they are sexually harassed more often now ...

Developing a New Approach to Harassment Prevention in the Era of #MeToo

by Samuel Lillard in Human Resources, Risk Management. Posted July 30, 2019

Based upon 25 years of litigating harassment claims, and more than 20 years of training managers on harassment avoidance, I have reached a simple, and perhaps obvious, conclusion – that is, the “traditional” anti-harassment training used by most employers simply do not work. Whether training occurs online or in person, it almost always starts with ...

Canadian Employment Laws

by Osler Hoskin Harcourt in Human Resources, Legal. Posted April 30, 2019

If you operate a hotel anywhere in Canada, you need to consider employment-related laws in the province or territory where the hotel is located. The following is a summary of some important differences between U.S. and Canadian laws. No “Employment at Will”The U.S. concept of employment at will does not exist in Canada. In Canada, ...

EEOC Lawsuit Push Takes Aim At Hospitality Employers

by Andria Ryan in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Legal, Lodging. Posted September 18, 2018

In the first half of August 2018 alone, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed 16 lawsuits against employers—and hospitality employers should be especially wary about this surge of litigation, as several claims took direct aim at businesses in the industry. Harassment Claims Continue To Capture Spotlight In light of the sexual abuse allegations ...

“Hands Off, Pants On” When Guests Sexually Harass Your Hotel Employees

by Darin Mackender in Human Resources, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal, Lodging, Risk Management. Posted June 26, 2018

In an April 2016 survey of 400 Chicago-area women working at hotels, nearly 50 percent indicated that they have had a guest answer the door naked, expose themselves, or were otherwise flashed. Worse yet, 1 in 10 said they had been kissed, grabbed, pinched, or groped by a guest. Hotel employees reported incidents in which they were ...

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, ...