Special Thanks to Strasburger & Price
Strasburger & Price sponsored two pre-conference Luncheons at the recent Hospitality Law Conference.
Couldn't make it to the 2010 Hospitality Law Conference?
To purchase conference materials (Conference Summary Notebook and USB Drive with papers and PowerPoints) for $199.00, please contact Claudia Aslin.
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March 2010 • Vol III, Issue 1
In this Issue:
- Labor & Employment - EEOC and the Hospitality Industry
- Food & Beverage - Ninth Circuit Tip Pooling Decision
- Labor & Employment - Illusory Contracts
- What's New at HospitalityLawyer.com - International Franchising Webinar
- Lawyers on the Move - Attorney Spotlight
- Dates Set for 2011 Hospitality Law Conference
Staying Out Of The EEOC's Line Of Fire
by Fisher & Phillips
National Hotel Law Affiliate for Labor & Employment
The last place you want to see your company listed is on the EEOC's website under "Press Releases." Hospitality employers continue to make this list with reports of high-dollar settlements of discrimination and harassment allegations.
Recent high-profile cases listed on the EEOC website include a $19 million settlement of a class-action case against Outback Steakhouse; a $1.26 million settlement of a case against a Bahama Breeze restaurant in Ohio; and a $500,000 settlement of two cases against Landwin Management, Inc., a hotel operator in California.
Ninth Circuit Approves Certain Tip Pooling Arrangements
by Jean Back, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt
Member of the Global Alliance of Hospitality Attorneys
The Ninth Circuit has issued a new decision that affects employers with employees who receive tips as part of their compensation. In Cumbie v. Woody Woo, Inc., the Ninth Circuit held that an employer could require servers to pool tips to share with non-tipped kitchen and other “back of the house staff” as long as the servers were also paid minimum wage
Unilateral Contracts & Future Payment Promises To At-Will Employees:
Vanegas v. American Energy Services Adds Clarity to "Illusory Contracts"
by Shain Khoshbin, Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP
Member of the Global Alliance of Hospitality Attorneys
Is a “promise made always a promise kept”? As with many matters in the law, it depends. The state and federal reporters are replete with cases interpreting contracts, and the enforceability of both oral and written promises. Nevertheless, in Vanegas, the Texas Supreme Court did reject a company’s argument that a promise to pay its at-will employees 5% of the proceeds of a company sale or merger in the future is necessarily “illusory” - - because the company could terminate the employees at any time. The Court held that AES’s oral promise to pay certain at-will employees this amount was a unilateral contract under Texas law, which became enforceable upon those employees’ full performance. This article will examine the recent Vanegas opinion, as well as how certain courts have addressed this issue interpreting various other states’ laws.
What's New at HospitalityLawyer.com!
HospitalityLawyer.com offers legal, safety and security webinars for the industry. Upcoming webinars include:
-
March 31, International Franchising, presented by Andrew Loewinger and Kendal H. Tyre, Nixon Peabody
The webinar will begin at 3:00 CST.
Most webinars are only $59.00, and the first 20 registrants only pay $39.00! To register for any of the above webinars, please click here.
To visit our library of on-demand webinars, please click here.
Lawyers on the Move - Attorney Spotlight
David Zippin has served as the General Counsel for Vantage Hospitality Group since 2007. As General Counsel, he managed the legal department for Vantage and its affiliates including the Americas Best Value Inn and Lexington Hotel brands. He has experience in franchising, intellectual property, corporate, real estate, and commercial litigation.
David will be leaving Vantage soon and is looking for employment in Orlando. For David's resume, please click here. He may be reached at daz4@cornell.edu.
Save the Date for the 2011 Hospitality Law Conference
The 2011 Hospitality Law Conference is scheduled for February 9-11, 2011, in Houston, Texas. Mark your calendars to not miss this one-of-a-kind conference!
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