Overview
For an industry that depends on public interaction with its facilities and its employees, hospitality carries significant risk. A lot can go wrong: venues that are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an inappropriate exchange between a club employee and a member, union organizing, a wage and hour class action.
At Epstein Becker Green, we’ve been representing hotels, resorts, cruise lines, restaurants, spas, casinos, private clubs, and others in the hospitality industry for more than 50 years. We understand the unique challenges of their business and the many employment, labor, and workforce management issues that arise.
Safeguarding Workforce Assets with Tailored Advice and Training
Whether we’re expanding a compliance program, reviewing pay practices, or navigating health care and health benefit updates, we draw on our deep industry knowledge and benchmarking data to promote safe and productive work environments. Our policies, handbooks, and training programs are specifically tailored to best practices and preventive strategies for professional and courteous face-to-face interaction with colleagues and customers. When circumstances necessitate large reductions in force, our guidance ensures compliance at every step of the process.
Proven Litigation Strategies for High-Exposure Problems
Our team of seasoned litigators draws on deep experience defending employers in high-profile cases involving claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and breach of contract. When confronted with a class action alleging wage and hour violations or independent contractor misclassification, we act quickly to get the case dismissed or drastically limit exposure. Our lawyers have even challenged the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and secured new guidance that enabled restaurants and other businesses to create tip pools for tipped and non-tipped employees.
Proactive Labor Relations for Productive Workforces
Hospitality employers, especially hotels, country clubs, and resorts, need an experienced partner to support their labor-management relations objectives. Our lawyers have worked at the National Labor Relations Board, the DOL, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and in state and local agencies regulating labor-management relations in the public and private sectors. We regularly help our clients handle their most complex challenges, whether they’re negotiating new contracts or collective bargaining agreements, or trying to maintain their non-union status.
We’ve Got Accessibility Covered
ADA compliance is paramount in the hospitality industry. Our deep bench of ADA lawyers and technology auditors represents clients in all accessibility concerns involving their accommodations, public venues, physical workspaces, and websites. We resolve legal and regulatory claims quickly and mitigate future risk by negotiating positive compliance terms with the DOJ, performing brick-and-mortar facility audits, and reviewing accessible construction design plans. Our industry-leading technology consulting team provides full-service advice and audits. They help companies ensure that their websites and mobile applications meet ADA guidelines for mobility, hearing, vision, or communication disabilities.
Read less
Focus Areas
Services
- ADA and Public Accommodations
- Appellate
- Business Torts, Competition & Trade Secrets
- Class Actions
- Corporate & Transactional
- Corporate Financing
- Corporate Governance
- Corporate Reorganization
- Cross-Border Data Transfers
- Cross-Border Transactions
- Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
- Data Asset Management
- Data Breach and Incident Response
- Data Breach/Cybersecurity Investigations & Litigation
- Data Protection
- DEI Compliance and Legal Counseling
- Employee Benefits and ERISA
- Employment Litigation
- Employment Training
- Employment, Labor & Workforce Management
- ERISA – Retirement and Benefit Plan Litigation
- Executive Compensation
- Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy
- Foreign Multinational Counseling and Litigation
- Immigration
- Insider Threats
- Intellectual Property
- Intellectual Property Litigation
- Labor and Employment Due Diligence
- Labor Management Relations
- Litigation & Business Disputes
- Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures
- Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA)
- Pandemic Workforce Issues
- Pay Equity
- Privacy Compliance Strategies
- Privacy, Cybersecurity & Data Asset Management
- Ransomware
- Real Estate
- Remote and Hybrid Work
- Social Media and the Workplace
- State Privacy Law Compliance
- Tax and Tax-Exempt Counseling
- Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility
- Wage and Hour
- Whistleblowing and Compliance
- Workforce Government Relations
- Workforce Restructuring and Other Cost-Saving Mechanisms
- Workplace Investigations
Experience
- Defended a hotel company with properties across the country in a DOL investigation of its pay practices. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we concluded the matter in six weeks with no findings of back wages or penalties due—a rarity in hospitality employer investigations.
- Resolved a significant regulatory accessibility investigation for a global cruise line. We reached a comprehensive, landmark agreement to enhance the client’s existing accessibility policies, practice, and procedures. In extensive negotiations with the regulators, we offered new and creative approaches to resolving concerns that were supported by architectural designs and economic data.
- Counseled two major hotel chains severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic on preparing WARN Act notices in dozens of states and in reporting the employee furloughs and terminations to governmental entities. Due to our efforts, these furloughs and closures resulted in zero lawsuits filed and no WARN violations alleged.
- Represented a major privately held owner of budget-friendly hotels in its labor relations initiatives, which have allowed the client to maintain non-union status.
- Won a three-week jury trial for a large hotel and entertainment company, in which the former employee had alleged a hostile work environment based on age.
Our Team
Media
Events
Upcoming Events
- July 24 - 25, 2025
Past Events
- November 29, 2023
Insights
Insights
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “No Tax on Tips Muddled by Confusion, Unintended Consequences”3 minute read
- PublicationsDOJ’s Final Rule on Bulk Data Transfers: A Road Map21 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green's Paul DeCamp Elected a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers4 minute read
- Publications#WorkforceWednesday: What Employers Need to Know—Key Labor and Employment Developments in Washington State, Ohio, and ...3 minute read
- PublicationsNew York Paid Prenatal Leave: NYC Adds to State Mandate, Imposes More Employer Requirements7 minute read
- Blogs
Master the First Moves in Litigation for Courtroom Advantage – Speaking of Litigation Video Podcast
27 minute read - BlogsPay Equity Expands in Ohio: Cleveland Passes Ordinance6 minute read
- PublicationsWashington Overhauls Employment Laws on Reductions in Force and Background Checks13 minute read
- BlogsMinimum Wage Increases Coming Soon Across the Nation – Especially in California15 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Legal Shifts in 2025 Put Employer Non-Compete Strategies at Risk2 minute read
- BlogsOhio Leads the Way Allowing Employers to Post Digital Labor and Employment Notices3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Workplace ICE Raids Are Surging—Here’s How Employers Can Prepare - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Earns Top Honors in Legal 500 2025 for Excellence in Client Service and Achievements Across Key Health ...
3 minute read - Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “Trump HR’s New Essay Question Risks Politicizing Federal Hiring”2 minute read
- BlogsVideo: DOL Restructures - OFCCP on the Chopping Block as Opinion Letters Expand - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Recognized by Chambers USA 2025 for Delivering Excellence on Behalf of Healthcare, Labor & Employment ...
5 minute read - Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “Injunctions Key Tool in W&H Fights, Birthright Case Illuminates”3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Abortion Protections Struck Down, LGBTQ Harassment Guidance Vacated, EEO-1 Reporting Opens - Employment Law This ...2 minute read
- BlogsTime Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on . . . Successful Summer Internship Programs7 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “DOL Wage Policy Team Brings Biz-Friendly Experience”3 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Thirteen Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Named to the 2025 Washington, DC Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
6 minute read - PublicationsDifferent Kinds of Cool That Still Just Don’t Register: Why Birkenstocks & Melted Rink Ice (AKA Water) Aren’t ...4 minute read
- BlogsMaryland Delays Start of Paid Family and Medical Leave Program4 minute read
- BlogsEEOC Opens 2024 EEO-1 Reporting and the Deadline to File is Weeks Away6 minute read
- BlogsVideo: New Executive Order Targets Disparate Impact Claims Nationwide - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- Blogs
Harnessing AI in Litigation: Techniques, Opportunities, and Risks – Speaking of Litigation Video Podcast
27 minute read - BlogsVideo: How Modern Workplaces Navigate Generational Shifts: One-on-One with Jeff Landes2 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Independent Contractor Rule, EEO-1 Reporting, and New York Labor Law Amendment - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsDOL Shelves Independent Contractor Rule4 minute read
- BlogsDisparate Impact Liability Under Fire10 minute read
- BlogsNew York City Employers: It’s Time to Post Your Lactation Policy4 minute read
- BlogsTime Is Money: A Quick Wage and Hour Tip . . . Contractual Indemnification May Not Guard Against FLSA Claims8 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Trade Secrets on Trial - Strategic Decisions for the Courtroom2 minute read
- BlogsCalifornia Court of Appeal Holds That Prospective Meal Waivers for Shifts Between Five and Six Hours are Enforceable ...4 minute read
- BlogsVideo: 100 Days In - What Employers Need to Know - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- PublicationsNew Executive Order Addresses Disparate Impact Liability: Key Implications for Employers13 minute read
- BlogsStates Continue to Introduce Legislation Aimed at Restricting Noncompete Agreements11 minute read
- Media CoverageMarc Mandelman Quoted in “The Latest Blow to Civil Rights in the Workplace”4 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Non-Competes Eased, Anti-DEI Rule Blocked, Contractor Rule in Limbo - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsNew Jersey Supreme Court Confirms: Commissions Are Wages Under the New Jersey Wage Payment Law4 minute read
- BlogsInsider Strategies for Wage and Hour Compliance Success: One-on-One with Paul DeCamp2 minute read
- BlogsNew York State Proposes Bill to Ban Noncompetes Except for Highly Compensated Workers and in Sales of Businesses ...6 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Can the President Fire NLRB Members Without Cause? SCOTUS May Decide - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsTexas Joins List of Legislatures Seeking to Ban Noncompete Agreements4 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Artificial Intelligence Regulations for Employers - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- PublicationsCTA Interim Final Rule Eliminates Requirements for U.S. Companies and U.S. Individuals to File Beneficial Ownership ...3 minute read
- BlogsNLRB Member Wilcox Reinstated Again: Board Regains a Quorum, at Least for Now3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: EEOC/DOJ Joint DEI Guidance, EEOC Letters to Law Firms, OFCCP Retroactive DEI Enforcement - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsNo Ultimatums: New York State Lawmakers Contemplate New Mandatory Provisions for Severance Agreements4 minute read
- BlogsAnother Court Partly Blocks DEI-Related Executive Orders; U.S. Government Continues to Stay Its Course6 minute read