Hospitality leaders and local government officials have recognized the need for improvement for hotel workers. Many housekeepers say there are too many incidents and harassment when trying to do their job. The incidents range from guests exposing themselves to inappropriately touching the housekeepers. In 2018, the American Hotel & Lodging Association ("AHLA") started the 5-Star Promise initiative that helps strengthen the safety and security of hotel employees and more. During the same year, the City of Miami Beach stepped forward to improve hotel employees' safety by passing a local ordinance.
This article will cover the panic button compliance requirements for hotels in the City of Miami. For more compliance details for other cities and states in the United States, view our comprehensive Panic Button Legislation Guide for Hoteliers here.
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Overview
In the City of Miami Beach, Ordinance No. 2018-4207 was passed and adopted on July 28, 2018, with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The Ordinance amended Chapter 62 of the Code of City of Miami Beach to create Article VI, named "Protection of Hotel Employees from Assault and Sexual Harassment." As described in the Ordinance documentation, it intends to protect hotel employees from sexual assault and harassment due to the nature of working alone in the workplace. One of the requirements is to provide a safety button (i.e., panic button, notification button, safety duress button) to each hotel employee that holds a role of a room attendant, housekeeper attendant, minibar attendant, or room service server.
Summary of Hotel Employer Responsibilities
The City of Miami Beach, Protection of Hotel Employees from Assault and Sexual Harassment Ordinance applies to all hotels and hostels.
Main employer responsibilities consist of:
Under Section 62-206, there is a requirement to provide a panic button device to certain employees. The panic button device must be designed to be portable, so it's easily carried on a person while performing their duties and allow for activation to summon help quickly to their location.
A summary of the required panic button capabilities:
It's essential to understand what is a hotel panic button and how it's not a traditional noisemaker that emits a loud noise when activated.
If a hotel or hostel does not meet their employer responsibilities, the following civil fines will be imposed for violation of the Ordinance:
No one should come to work thinking they will face a situation where their safety and well-being are at high risk. The passing of the City of Miami Beach ordinance that provides hotel employees with a panic button that they can activate during an emergency will add an extra layer of relief to workers who often work alone. We recommend working with a vendor that has specifically built a platform for safety and not an "add-on" feature to an existing suite of technology.
To protect employees with a reliable and effective panic button solution at your Miami Beach hotel property and meet panic button requirements, book a free demo with us today: https://www.reactmobile.com/demo-request.