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Hospitality

Blog

Recent Blog Posts

  • Rules relating to tip credit and pooling have resulted in significant debate among legislators, regulators, and the courts, leading to confusion, further litigation, and, in many cases, substantial liability or settlements involving employers that operate in the hospitality industry.  Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published proposed rulemaking that aims to bring greater clarity to the morass of tip-related legislation, as well as previous agency rules and interpretations.  I describe below some of the notable elements of these proposed... More
  • This week, a one-year “revival” period of statute of limitations began for individuals who assert civil claims of child abuse to file claims against institutions and individuals pursuant to New York’s Child Victims Act, even if those claims had already expired and/or were dismissed because they were filed late. The premise behind the Child Victims Act is that children are often prevented from disclosing abuse due to the social, psychological and emotional trauma they experience. Additionally, the Child Victims Act, also expands... More
  • Our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice now offers on-demand “crash courses” on diverse topics. You can access these courses on your own schedule. Keep up to date with the latest trends in benefits and compensation, or obtain an overview of an important topic addressing your programs. In each compact, 15-minute installment, a member of our team will guide you through a topic. This on-demand series should be of interest to all employers that sponsor benefits and compensation programs. In our newest installment, Tzvia Feiertag, Member of the Firm in... More
  • Earlier this summer, we reported on ground-breaking legislation in New Jersey that requires hotels with more than 100 guest rooms to supply hotel employees assigned to work in a guest room alone with a free panic button device and to adhere to a specific protocol upon activation of a panic button device by a hotel employee.  In what may signal the start of a national trend, Illinois just became the second state to pass similar legislation targeting not only hotels... More
  • Earlier this year, we reported legislative efforts in Illinois to curb sexual harassment in the hospitality industry via Illinois House Bill 3551, which would require restaurants to adopt a sexual harassment policy and provide training to all employees.  While that bill appears to have stalled in the House, similar requirements appear in Illinois Senate Bill 75 (titled the “Workplace Transparency Act”), which, after sitting on the Governor Pritzker’s desk for several months, was finally signed by Governor Pritzker on August... More
  • This Employment Law This Week® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers in August 2019. This episode includes: Increased Employee Protections for Cannabis Users First Opinion Letters Released Under New Wage and Hour Leadership New Jersey and Illinois Enact Salary History Inquiry Bans Deadline for New York State Anti-Harassment Training Approaches Tip of the Week See below to watch the full episode – click here for story details and video. We invite you to view Employment Law This Week® – tracking the latest developments that could impact you and your workforce.... More
  • Our colleagues Maxine Neuhauser, Nathaniel M. Glasser, Denise Dadika, & Anastasia A. Regne, at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Health Employment and Labor blog that will be of interest to our readers in the hospitality industry: “New Jersey’s Highest Court to Decide Whether Employers Are Required to Accommodate Medical Marijuana Use.” Following is an excerpt: In Wild, which we discussed in a recent client alert, plaintiff Justin Wild (“Wild”) alleged that his employer, Carriage Funeral Holdings (“Carriage Funeral”) failed to reasonably accommodate his disability (cancer) and unlawfully... More
  • Colorado has joined a growing movement of states in passing laws that provide greater protections to employees and job applicants. Among these are the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and a ban the box law, which limits criminal history inquiries for job applicants. The following is a breakdown of Colorado’s newest employment laws and how their implementation may impact employers and employees alike. Equal Pay Effective January 1, 2021, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (the “Act”) will expressly prohibit... More
  • After a long legislative battle, the New York State Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (“GENDA” or “Law”), which was signed into law and became effective on January 25, 2019, explicitly added “gender identity or expression” as a protected class under the state’s non-discrimination laws. Now, under a proposed state regulation, the New York State Division of Human Rights (“DHR”) would amend its regulations, codified in NYCRR §466.13, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, and transgender status to conform... More
  • This Employment Law This Week® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers in July 2019. Both the video and the extended audio podcast are now available. This episode includes: State Legislation Heats Up NLRB Overturns Another Long-Standing Precedent SCOTUS October Term 2018 Wraps Up Tip of the Week: How inclusion and trust can increase innovation in the workplace See below to watch the full episode – click here for story details, the video, and the extended audio podcast. Stay tuned: Sign-up for email notifications and subscribe to the... More