Workplace hazards exist in all industries, but hotel maids face dangers as a result of their interactions with hotel guests. Hotel employment is surprisingly dangerous for some New York workers. Many hotel maids face sexual harassment and abuse regularly and unfortunately, hotel management is not always protecting them or providing a safe work environment.
All employers have a responsibility to provide a safe working environment for their employees, and this includes hotels and hotel employees. A safe working environment for hotel maids is a bit challenging due to the secluded nature of the work, but internal procedures like having maids lock hotel doors behind them when cleaning a room when the guests are not inside; using the deadbold to prevent the door from being locked by guests inside the room while the maid is inside; or giving workers a panic button to call the front desk for help would go a long way toward protecting maids while on the job.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was recently accused of sexually assaulting a maid at Sofitel hotel in NYC, and Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar was acussed of assaulting a maid at the Pierre hotel in NYC. Employers in the hotel industry who fail to resolve sexual harassment problems may be found legally liable.
If you have been sexually harassed or assaulted at work, contact New York workers compensation lawyers.