Legal Issue - HospitalityLawyer.com®

Where Does Hotel Industry Joint Employment Liability End?

by Buchalter in Hotel Development, Human Resources, Legal, Lodging. Posted January 6, 2017

A big issue facing hotel owners is who is the employer—is it the owner or the manager, the franchisor or the franchisee, the client or the contractor? Who has the liability for employment claims? Many hotel owners today are real estate investment trusts, private funds, insurance companies and other institutional owners, which muddies dividing lines, ...

Establishing “Workweeks” For Exempt Employees

by John Thompson in Human Resources, Legal. Posted January 4, 2017

We have written previously about how important the “workweek” concept is in complying with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum-wage and overtime requirements. An FLSA workweek is a fixed, regularly-recurring period of seven, consecutive, 24-hour periods that management expressly adopts for FLSA purposes. Employers must select and document at least one such workweek (or ...

Key Issues in Hotel Sales and Acquisitions

by Thomson Reuters in Hotel Development, Legal. Posted December 19, 2016

Buying and selling hotels is, in many ways, similar to buying and selling other types of commercial real estate, such as office buildings, shopping centers, or other mixed-use properties. However, potential purchasers and sellers of hotels must understand the key differences and unique issues that arise in a hotel sale or acquisition. This Note discusses: ...

Anticipating Trump’s Impact on Labor Relations in the Hotel Industry

by Dana Kravetz in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Legal. Posted December 12, 2016

Unlike his oval office predecessor, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to limit federal labor and employment agency activism in wage and hour and other employment-related matters. Hotel owners and franchisors, which in recent months have experienced numerous workforce-related challenges, are likely to witness significant labor and employment policy shifts, a few of which are detailed ...

Is Your Hotel Security Staff Exposing You to Liability?

by Michelman Robinson in Hotel Development, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal, Lodging, Risk Management. Posted November 21, 2016

BY DAVID M. SAMUELS, ALICIA O’BRIEN Are you a hotel owner and/or operator who employs a private security staff? If so, do not let administrative inattention threaten your business. Take a few key steps to reduce your potential liability. California regulations effective since 2011 require that all hoteliers employing their own security guards must be ...

Reading the Fine Print: Changes in Legal Framework for the Assessment and Display of Service Charges

by Garvey Schubert Barer in Food & Beverage, Hotel Development, Legal, Lodging. Posted October 24, 2016

by Ruth Walters Service charges, administrative charges, surcharges, house fees—whatever you call those charges assessed for food and beverage service in restaurants and in hotels—the rules about how they need to be disclosed to guests and how they must be allocated are propagating. More and more cities, municipalities and other local legal bodies are taking ...

Hotel Price Gouging

by Sandy Garfinkel in Legal, Lodging. Posted October 20, 2016

When Hurricane Matthew barreled down on parts of Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and then veered toward several southeastern states, those who could fled while others waited it out in emergency shelters or with families. But for many, hotels are the only option. With natural disasters like hurricanes, floods or tornadoes seeming to happen ...

Hotels and Restaurants; Prime Real Estate for Slip and Fall Accidents

by Eckert Seamans in Food & Beverage, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Lodging, Risk Management, Safety & Security. Posted August 26, 2016

By David B. Willis, MemberEckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC – Boston Slip and falls are the number one cause of accidents in hotels, restaurants and public buildings according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Injuries from a seemingly incidental fall here or trip there are estimated to cost some $70 billion annually according to ...

Accommodating Transgender Guests in Hotel Restrooms, Locker Rooms Is a Balancing Act

by Fisher Phillips in Human Resources, Legal, Lodging, Travel. Posted August 5, 2016

If you work in the hospitality industry, you no doubt realize that for all of the hotel rooms around the globe, there is no room for discrimination. Claims of bias can have devastating consequences on a brand as well as rippling economic effects. To put that into perspective, the NBA’s recent decision to pull its ...

Time to Act – Employers Have Fewer than Six Months to Comply With New Federal Overtime Exemption Rule

by Buchalter in Human Resources, Legal. Posted July 13, 2016

By: Paul Bressan and Ruth Seroussi On May 18, 2016, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its much-anticipated final overtime exemption rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), as tasked to do by President Obama in 2014. The DOL received more than 270,000 comments since it published its Notice of Proposed Rule ...

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