We use cookies on this website to enhance your browser experience. By continuing to use this site, you are providing us with your consent to our use of cookies on the site. To learn more about cookies and how we use them, please review our privacy policy.

Hospitality

Blog

Recent Blog Posts

  • The brand-new Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) has launched its webpage and issued the first set of guidance for both employers and employees. The DFML was created to help facilitate the implementation of Massachusetts’ new Paid Family and Medical Leave programs (“PFML”). The deadline for employers to start making contributions toward the PFML programs is July 1, 2019, and employees may begin receiving benefits beginning on January 1, 2021. The DFML’s first set of guidance provides comprehensive FAQ... More
  • Pursuant to its mandate to implement the new anti-sexual harassment training requirements under the Stop Sexual Harassment Act (the “Act”), the New York City Commission on Human Rights (“Commission”) just released FAQs clarifying various aspects of the Act’s training mandates. Most notably, the FAQs address how an employer should determine whether it is covered by the training requirement, as well as a covered employer’s obligations with regard to training independent contractors. The training mandate becomes effective on April 1, 2019. The... More
  • Our colleagues Susan Gross Sholinsky, Nancy Gunzenhauser Popper, and Amanda M. Gómez at Epstein Becker Green has a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Law blog that will be of interest to our readers in the hospitality industry: “NYC Commission on Human Rights Issues Guidance on Employers’ Obligations Under the City’s Disability Discrimination Laws.” Following is an excerpt: The New York City Commission on Human Rights (“Commission”) recently issued a 146-page guide titled “Legal Enforcement Guidance on Discrimination on the Basis of Disability”... More
  • The New York City Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) recently proposed new rules (“Proposed Rules”), which, among other things, define various terms related to gender identity, re-enforce recent statutory changes to the definition of the term “gender,” and clarify the scope of protections afforded gender identity status under the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”). If the proposed rules are adopted, the Commission’s interpretation of the NYCHRL will establish broad protections for individuals covered by the law’s prohibition... More
  • In 2018, we have seen important new wage and hour developments unfolding on a seemingly weekly basis. To help you stay up to date and out of the crosshairs of the plaintiffs’ bar, we invite you to join Epstein Becker Green’s Employment, Labor & Workforce Management Webinar Series presentation for September. Presented by our Wage and Hour practice group, this webinar will focus on wage and hour developments affecting the hospitality and home health care industries, although much of the... More
  • Featured on Employment Law This Week: NYC Employers Required to Grant Temporary Schedule Changes . New York City employers are now required to accommodate some employee schedule changes – As of July 18th, employees in New York City can request temporary schedule changes, or permission to take unpaid time off for personal events like a caregiving emergency. Employers are required to grant up to two changes per year for up to one business day per request. Employees must be on the... More
  • On July 9, 2018, Governor Edmund Brown, Jr. signed into law Assembly Bill 2770 (“AB 2770”) to protect victims of sexual harassment and employers from defamation claims brought by alleged harassers. AB 2770 was sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce and passed by the California Legislature to address the chilling effect that the threat of defamation suits can have on harassment victims and employers: deterring victims and witnesses from coming forward; deterring employers from telling prospective employers about a... More
  • Our colleague Brian W. Steinbach at Epstein Becker Green has a post on the Wage & Hour Defense Blog that will be of interest to our readers in the hospitality industry: “Proposed D.C. Council Legislation Puts Voter-Approved Elimination of Tip Credit Into Question.” In our June 28, 2018 post on District of Columbia voters approving Initiative 77, which would incrementally increase the minimum cash wage for tipped workers to $15.00 per hour by July 1, 2025, and effectively eliminate the tip credit staring July... More
  • Our colleague Paul DeCamp at Epstein Becker Green has a post on the Wage & Hour Defense Blog that will be of interest to our readers in the hospitality industry: “Supreme Court Prevents Successive Class Actions from Reviving Time-Barred Claims.” In most wage and hour cases, each workweek gives rise to a separate claim, at least for statute of limitations purposes. Thus, an employee seeking payment for alleged off-the-clock work or an independent contractor claiming misclassification and entitlement to overtime ordinarily may seek back... More
  • On June 4, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 in favor of a Christian Colorado baker and owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who had refused to create a custom wedding cake for a gay couple due to his religious objections to gay marriage. Although the case previously had been litigated on free speech grounds, the Court’s opinion largely avoids this constitutional question, and does not address whether Title VII prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Instead, the decision focuses on the Colorado Civil... More