Duff on Hospitality Law

In the hospitality industry, dress code policies are very important. Diana Shukis, member of our Labor, Employment & Immigration group, brings us the latest US Supreme Court ruling regarding image-based policies. Thank you, Diana! – Greg

In today’s post, Malcolm Seymour, a member of our New York office who specializes in commercial litigation and regulatory enforcement actions, discusses the benefits and legal considerations for those who provide free WiFi to their hospitality customers.

In the past twelve months we have reported on a Virginia case, Yelp!, Inc., v. Hadeed Carpet Cleaning, Inc., (“Hadeed”) that was closely watched because the case dealt with whether a business owner could unmask an anonymous blogger that posted specific critical reviews on Yelp! of his carpet cleaning company. This week the Virginia Supreme Court said, “No”. Hadeed had subpoenaed Yelp! to provide information in Virginia that would identify the authors of the reviews under a new Virginia statute, that requires only that a business prove that a negative review is, or “may be defamatory” or that it has a legitimate good-faith basis for believing that the review is defamatory in order to learn the identity of the reviewer. Hadeed presented evidence that could prove that the seven negative reviewers were not actual customers of the carpet cleaners, which a lower court found could mean that the reviews could be defamatory.

In today's post, we discuss the latest updates regarding the federal processes that authorize employment for certain undocumented persons. Thank you! – Greg

Benjamin Lambiotte, technology and data privacy attorney in Garvey Schubert Barer’s D.C. office, shares key points from two significant survey reports analyzing trends in data security breaches during 2014 that were released this week; one from Verizon, and the other from IBM and the Poneman Institute. It should come as no surprise to anyone that once again, the hospitality industry is featured prominently in both reports. Thank you, Ben! – Greg

In this blog post, we discuss the NLRB's March 2015 report and the importance of reviewing and updating your employee handbook. Thank you! – Greg

In a 43-page ruling issued late Tuesday, Federal Judge Richard Jones denied the International Franchise Association’s (“IFA”) bid to prevent Seattle’s Minimum Wage Ordinance’s franchise provision from going into effect as written. As a result, starting April 1, most franchisees in Seattle will be treated as “large” employers under the Ordinance, meaning they must pay the higher initial rate of $11 per hour. They also will scale up to the $15 minimum wage in just three years, much more rapidly than small businesses. While this is not the end of IFA’s case attacking the franchise provision, it is a big setback and a strong indication that IFA is unlikely to ultimately be successful.

How secure is the data on your office copier? Today's post from Benjamin Lambiotte, technology and data privacy attorney in Garvey Schubert Barer's D.C. office, outlines the data security risks associated with office machines, as well as the warning signs and steps that you can take to reduce those risks. Thank you, Ben! - Greg

Are your employees using company email during nonworking hours?  This blog brings the latest developments in NLRB’s ruling and important policy changes that employers can implement to comply with the ruling. Thank you! – Greg

Our post today provides important steps to take when employers are faced with an employee with a new SSN or Employment Authorization Document. Thank you! - Greg