By Peter M. Panken, Michael S. Kun, Douglas Weiner and Larissa Lalor-Rosado
Hotels, restaurants and private clubs all rely on sponsored events, banquets and social soirees for the profitability of their operation. Most employ one or more “managers” to solicit the business, work with the clients, detail the services to be provided, prepare the contract and even negotiate a price. In most instances higher management must approve the terms the managers propose including the financial arrangements. In other cases the basic terms are set forth in directions which can only be varied ...
by Ian G. Nanos
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued its Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2011. As reported by the EEOC, 2011 was a record year. A quick review of these highlights, as well as the pending docket, reveals a growing trend and employers should pay attention.
First the highlights. During FY 2011, the EEOC received a record number of discrimination charges – nearly 100,000 against private sector employers alone. More importantly, the EEOC also recovered a record $364 Million through administrative ...
By: Jordan Schwartz
The holiday season is often the busiest time of the year for hospitality employers. At the same time, employees may appreciate the opportunity to earn more during these busy months. Consequently, there may be occasions when an employer places an employee in a dual capacity role. For example, from November through January, a hotel may permit (or require) a housekeeping attendant to also function as a front desk reservation assistant. While assigning (or permitting) an employee to work at another post with a different rate of pay is generally permissible ...
By: Paul Rosenberg
On December 9, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (“the Court”) refused to enforce a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision that a hotel unlawfully suspended hospitality workers who engaged in a work stoppage. Fortuna Enters. LP v. NLRB, D.C. Cir., No. 10-1272 (December 9, 2011). In this case, UNITE HERE – the largest hospitality union in the country – was seeking to organize employees of the hotel. While the union organizing drive was ongoing, the hotel suspended an employee pending an investigation into whether ...
By Eric J. Conn, Head of the OSHA Practice Group at Epstein Becker & Green
At the end of November 2011, OSHA announced that it had extended nationwide what had been a limited pilot enforcement program targeting chemical facilities' compliance with OSHA's Process Safety Management Standard in a few Regions of the country. This new Chemical Facilities PSM National Emphasis Program (Chem NEP) establishes policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces covered by OSHA's PSM Standard.
The purpose of the Chem NEP is to allow OSHA to conduct many more, but focused inspections at ...
On December 1, 2011, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, affirmed dismissal of a whistle-blowing and defamation lawsuit based in part on application of the New Jersey Health Care Professional Responsibility and Reporting Enhancement Act. In Senisch v. Carlino, A-6218-09T3 (N.J. App. Div. Dec. 1, 2011), the court held that a health care entity which had reported negative, but truthful, information to another health care entity about a former health care professional’s termination of employment could not be liable for doing so.
In this case, the ...
By Dena L. Narbaitz and Marisa S. Ratinoff
While everyone awaits the California Supreme Court's ruling in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) – which is expected sometime in early 2012 and will determine the scope of an employer's meal and rest period obligations – employers must not lose sight of other important developments in California employment law. Below are brief summaries of some of the legislative enactments in California that will affect employers. Unless otherwise noted, these laws will take effect on January 1, 2012.
By Eric J. Conn and Amanda R. Strainis-Walker
As the clock winds down on 2011, a truly remarkable year of OSHA enforcement, it is time to think about 2012. Notwithstanding the fact that 2012 is an election year, and much of OSHA's rulemaking activities will be shelved until the day after the election, 2012 is likely to be another remarkable year in the OSHA universe, from significant enforcement initiatives to the completion of some major rules.
Below is a list of the 5 most important developments we expect to see out of the agency in the upcoming year:
- Nationwide Chemical Facilities ...
by Dena L. Narbaitz and Marisa S. Ratinoff
While everyone awaits the California Supreme Court's ruling in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) – which is expected sometime in early 2012 and will determine the scope of an employer's meal and rest period obligations – employers must not lose sight of other important developments in California employment law. Below are brief summaries of some of the legislative enactments in California that will affect employers. Unless otherwise noted, these laws will take effect on January 1, 2012.
By Michael Kun
On January 1, 2012, the minimum wage for employees working in San Francisco will rise to $10.24 per hour.
This is, to our knowledge, the first time the minimum wage in any U.S. city has ever exceeded $10 per hour.
Employers with employees in San Francisco will need to make sure that they make appropriate adjustments to their payroll systems and practices to account for the increase.
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