Importance of Knowledge of Laws in the Hospitality Industry.

A working knowledge of laws governing the hospitality industry isn't just a nice bonus piece of knowledge. Employees, managers and other staff members need to know enough about the various hospitality laws or innkeeper’s laws as they are sometimes referred to in state law, to avoid breaking them. This goes for hotels and other lodging places, restaurants, and also bars, country clubs, spas, convention facilities and any other places that serve food or provide places for overnight stays. Failing to follow local, state and federal laws can result in fines, lawsuits and negative publicity, all of which can be disastrous to a hospitality firm. Keeping Customers Safe Food safety laws play a major role in the hospitality industry, and knowledge about how to clean and store food can keep your customers safe and help your business avoid lawsuits and fines. The many cases of food contamination in the news recently have demonstrated the difficulty in tracing the origin of tainted food, which means places that serve food must be vigilant about knowing their suppliers. Customers who get food poisoning from your food, whether you were at fault or not, are not welcome publicity. If your establishment is one of the many who welcome dogs on their patios, there are numerous laws governing practices you must follow to keep dining areas sanitary. Other safety laws include the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act, which maintains a list of hotels that meet minimum fire safety guidelines. If your hotel follows these guidelines, federal employees can stay at your business, increasing your customer base, and customers can rest easy knowing that your hotel is invested in keeping them safe in the event of a fire. Clearly, this is a list you want to be on, so be sure you know the hotel laws on fire safety. Restaurants, too, have fire safety laws to follow, including maximum occupancy, ample exits and keeping aisles clear so customers can reach the exits in an emergency. Protecting Your Reputation Knowledge of hospitality regulations protects your business's reputation. Of course unsafe or unsanitary conditions affect your reputation, but there are many other laws you need to follow as well. For example, hotels have to provide access to disabled patrons, and if your business fails to comply, you could face lawsuits, protests and negative publicity. Similarly, discriminating against people on the basis of sex, race, religion, disability status or age can draw unwanted negative attention. Staff members should be trained to understand what constitutes discrimination so they're aware of their legal obligation to respect diverse workers and patrons. Honoring Agreements and Fair Marketing Workers in the hospitality industry may be members of unions, and some unions have specific agreements with employers governing wages, working conditions and benefits. Your management staff needs to honor these agreements, as well as any contracts you've signed with customers, vendors and contractors. Similarly, hotels must adopt fair and honest marketing practices. Deceptive marketing is illegal. For example, if you advertise one price, then an employee refuses to offer that price to a patron, you could be sued for deceptive marketing. Advertising an "as low as" price could be considered a form of "bait and switch" advertising if that price seems to never be available and customers are instead guided to higher-priced accommodations. Record-Keeping for Hospitality Laws You may at times be overwhelmed by the amount of record keeping in the hospitality industry. Yet, such records could become quite valuable resources if you need to prove adherence to any of the numerous hospitality laws. Food businesses have to maintain tip sheets indicating the tips employees receive at tip-out, and all hospitality businesses must keep accurate and up-to-date employment agreements and payroll tax paperwork. Employees who know and understand the hospitality laws can keep more accurate records and will be less likely to throw away or delete important documentation. Without proper record-keeping, your business could get into trouble with a variety of governmental agencies, over or underpay employees and even miss out on important tax deductions. OSHA Regulations for Restaurants Prior to launching a successful eatery, whether that means a fast food joint or an upscale restaurant, you must comply with federal laws regarding workplace safety and health. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration establishes and enforces these regulations in the restaurant industry as well as in many other industries. OSHA restaurant safety rules are intended to ensure that the health and safety of patrons and workers is your primary concern. To ensure your compliance with OSHA regulations for restaurants, an OSHA inspector may visit and respect your establishment. If that inspector finds a violation of restaurant safety policy, he has the authority to issue a fine and to order you to correct the violation by a specific deadline. If you don’t meet this deadline to comply with OSHA restaurant safety, the inspector can close down your restaurant. Understanding the OSHA regulations for restaurants can help you avoid this fate. Maintain Clean and Dry Floors The potential for slips and falls at a restaurant is obviously high because of the number of liquids transported back and forth from the kitchen to the main dining area. Keeping all floors in a restaurant clean and dry is one of the most important OSHA regulations for restaurants. All areas near a sink or bar should have adequate drainage to prevent puddles of water from forming. Building raised platforms and using floor mats are ways to make these areas safer. You should also assign one of your employees the task of visually inspecting the condition of your floors to ensure there are no protruding nails, loose boards, or holes that could cause a slip-and-fall. Handle Food Properly Another important OSHA restaurant safety rule is the proper handling of food at your restaurant. Before handling food, your employees are required to wash their hands and any utensils in warm water and soap. Your restaurant safety policy should also include specific instructions on wiping down counters and other food preparation areas with bleach cleaners to kill bacteria and viruses. Cooks and busboys must boil any sponges they use, or place them in a dishwasher that has a hot-water cycle. The danger of not eliminating bacteria is that if these sponges come in contact with dishes and utensils, they can contaminate food that you serve to your patrons. Maintain Fire Safety You must also establish a fire safety plan as part of your restaurant safety policy. That plan must include placing fire extinguishers in specified areas of your building. You must also train employees how to properly use those fire extinguishers, and each employee should memorize the location of each of the devices. OSHA also requires you to test each fire extinguisher periodically and to sign and date a maintenance log. If an OSHA inspector makes a visit, you have to be able to provide him with the log or you will face a fine. The OSHA regulations for restaurants also require you to keep all flammable liquids a safe distance away from cooking appliances. Maintain Optimal Working Conditions Restaurant kitchens can generate a significant amount of heat generated by the ovens, grills and stoves used to make food. As a result, you must provide a cool area with air conditioning or fans where your employees can take their breaks. And as part of your initial employee training, you must provide information about how workers can spot signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion. First aid is another important part of that training, because your employees need to know how to help a co-worker who is injured or is not breathing. Observe Age Limitations Although you are allowed to hire high school students as part-time employees, you must comply with OSHA’s age restrictions regarding the type of work they can perform and the number of hours they can work. The work hours allowed vary, based on your employee’s age and the time of year. More important, employees under age 16 can’t bake, cook, handle knives or use any appliance that could lead to injury.