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  • March 1, 2023

THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT TERMS A HOTEL OWNER CAN NEGOTIATE IN A FRANCHISE AGREEMENT

A franchise agreement may be the most important document a hotel owner negotiates.  A good relationship with the franchisor is at the core of a successful and profitable hotel business venture, and the franchise agreement is the foundation of that relationship. The franchise agreement is an extensive and detailed agreement.  It can often seem incomprehensible and intimidating to the potential franchisee.  There is often a perception that what the franchisor presents is fixed and non-negotiable.  However, a careful review and well prepared objections can often get an owner a better deal.  This article details the five most important terms that…

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  • October 4, 2022

THE BUSINESS BUYER’S BEST FRIEND: The Section 338(h) Election

Every purchase and sale of a business is structured as either a sale of assets or a sale of equity (stock or membership interests).  In an asset sale, the buyer usually creates its own company and purchases the assets (including equipment, inventory, accounts, and intangible goodwill), while the seller takes cash into its existing company and liquidates it.  In an equity sale, the buyer is purchasing the stock or membership interests of the seller and continuing the existing entity. As a general rule, buyers want to structure the transaction as an asset purchase, while sellers want the transaction to be…

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  • October 8, 2018

General Contractor Liability for Unpaid Wages

The Maryland General Assembly has passed a new statute that marks a dramatic departure from existing wage and hour requirements for general contractors.  The new statute, which took effect on October 1, 2018, makes general contractors responsible for the failure of their subcontractors to pay their employees the wages they are owed.  The statute is modeled after a recent District of Columbia law, and will significantly alter the long established rules among general contractors, subcontractors, and their employees. The Maryland wage and hour and wage payment laws are designed to ensure that employees are fully and timely paid.  The laws…

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  • November 28, 2017

Avoiding Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Recent news stories have shed a brighter light on the very real problem of sexual harassment in the workplace.  Failing to properly address sexual harassment creates an unsafe workplace and exposes the employer to substantial liability. There is nothing new about this issue. Liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act has existed for more than thirty years.  These recent headlines simply speak to the unfortunate reality that too many workplaces fail to properly address the problem.  It is imperative that employers acquire the tools needed to protect their employees and themselves.      Sexual harassment encompasses a wide…

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  • July 22, 2015

Termination of Hotel Management Agreements Under Maryland Law

During the course of negotiating an agreement between the owner of a hotel and a hotel operator, franchisor, or manager, one of the principal points of negotiation is the agreement’s term.  Over the course of the last few decades, however, numerous cases have held that, without regard to the term set forth in the agreement, a hotel owner always maintains the right to terminate a management agreement, even in the absence of a breach of the agreement by the manager.  These cases, however, may not be applicable in Maryland, which has a unique statute that provides hotel managers and operators…

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  • November 4, 2014

Anti-Retaliation Protections Under the Affordable Care Act

Employers are typically familiar with prohibitions against retaliating against their employees for engaging in protected activity under a statute.  Employers, however, may be unaware of additional anti-retaliation provisions that have been established under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). One of the lesser known provisions of the ACA is its amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to protect employees who receive certain benefits under the ACA or who report violations related to their employer’s failure to meet certain requirements of the ACA.  Specifically, Section 158 of the ACA, which creates Section 18C of the FLSA, prohibits employers from discharging,…

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  • May 6, 2014

Can Employers Become Contractually Bound to the FMLA?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects employees who work for employers that have more than 50 employees within seventy-five miles of the employee’s worksite.  However, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has suggested that employers, even if not specifically covered by the FMLA, may bind themselves to the terms of the FMLA through certain oral and written statements made to their employees. In Reaux v. Infohealth Management Corp., 2009 WL 635468 (N.D.Ill.), there was no dispute that the employer employed fewer than 50 employees within seventy-five miles of the employee’s worksite.  However, the…

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  • March 11, 2014

Hotel Pool Lift Requirements Under the ADA

Over the last several years, the hospitality industry has grappled with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make a number of recreational facilities, including swimming pools, accessible to individuals with a disability.

Title III of the ADA requires places of public accommodation, including hotels, to remove physical barriers in existing pools to the extent it is readily achievable to do so. In 2010, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published regulations under the ADA that contained specific accessibility requirements for swimming pools, and other types of recreational facilities.

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