by: Matthew Sorensen
1. Deadline For Compliance With New ADA Accessibility Rules Approaching:
On March 15, 2012, hospitality establishments will be required to be in compliance with the standards for accessibility set by the Department of Justice’s final regulations under Title III of the ADA (2010 ADA Standards). The regulations made significant changes to the requirements for accessible facilities, and will require additional training of staff on updated policies and procedures in response to inquiries from guests with disabilities. Among the most significant changes for hospitality businesses are:
· New structural and communication-related requirements for automatic teller machines (“ATMs”);
· Accessible means of entry for pools and spas – for pools, a sloped entry or a pool lift is required for the primary method of entry, and for spas, the means of entry may be a pool lift, transfer wall, or transfer system;
· At least 60% of public entrances must be accessible as compared with 50% under the former standards;
· A new requirement to modify hotel policies to ensure that individuals with disabilities can make reservations for accessible guest rooms during the same hours and in the same manner as individuals who do not need accessible rooms;
· Golf facilities must have either an accessible route or golf cart passages with a minimum width of 48 inches connecting accessible spaces of the golf course.
2. Tip Credit and Tip Pooling Lawsuits Remain The Lawsuit Du Jour:
In recent years, the number of individual and collective action lawsuits involving allegations of tip credit and tip-pooling violations by hospitality businesses has significantly increased. Given the ever changing web of state, federal and local laws regarding tip credit and tip pooling arrangements, it is important that hospitality employers with tipped employees periodically audit their pay practices to ensure compliance with all applicable rules. To minimize the risk of tip credit and tip pooling violations employers should ensure that:
· They inform tipped employees of any tip credit claimed against their wages;
· Employees report their tips and that proper records of tips are maintained; and
· Management and other categories of workers who are precluded from participating in tip pools by federal, state or local law do not participate in such pools.
3. Increase In Organizing Efforts By UNITE HERE:
The NLRB’s new rule amending the procedures for union election cases introduces a number of union-friendly changes to the election process, including the elimination of the right to seek NLRB review of regional directors’ pre-election rulings. These changes increase the risk that unions will seek approval of smaller units for elections that are based on the extent to which employees in such units support union representation.
In addition, the NLRB has also announced that its new rule requiring employers to post a notice describing employee rights under the NLRA will go into effect on April 30, 2012. The notice has the potential of generating more discussion of unionization among employees as well as more employee and union-initiated representation campaigns.
It is anticipated that groups like UNITE HERE will likely attempt to capitalize on these recent changes to increase unionization in the hospitality sector.
4. Social Media Remains A Hot Topic With The NLRB:
As the use of social media has steadily grown among restaurants and hoteliers, so too has the NLRB’s interest in cases involving social media policies and social media-related discipline. While employees do not receive protection under the NLRA merely by posting a work-related complaint on a social media website, under some circumstances employee complaints made using social media may be found to constitute protected concerted activity.
As such, hospitality employers need to remain cautious when crafting social media policies and any time they contemplate taking adverse action against an employee for social media activity.
5. U.S. Supreme Court to Address The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA):
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to address the challenges to the constitutionality of PPACA in 2012 and it is possible that the Court will issue an opinion on the matter before its June break. If the statute, or at least the portion of the statute that applies to employers and insurance companies, is found to be constitutional, hospitality employers with more than 50 employees will be required to provide certain mandated levels of healthcare coverage to all employees who regularly work more than 30 hours per week by 2014, or face penalties.
Lessons Learned:
In light of these issues, it is important that hospitality employers take action to evaluate their policies and practices, including those related to pay, social media, employee handbooks, and health insurance to ensure that they are compliant with applicable legal requirements. It is equally important that they plan proactively to address the potential business challenges posed by the NLRB’s new union-friendly election and notice rules and PPACA.