Summary
Case 85 is about the Winston Hotels based in Orlando Florida. In 2004, Hurricane Charley blew through Central Florida, followed by two other hurricanes within a 30-day period. During each hurricane the hotels were damaged by falling tree limbs and the accumulation of rainwater in some rooms. The company made employees work around the clock even though the hotels lost power for one to three days during each hurricane, telephone lines were out for various periods. All employees who refused to come to work were dismissed appealing his dismissal based on his citizen’s right to protect his home and property. He and his lawyer stated that this right superseded his employment contract. Additionally, some employees filed a lawsuit against the company because they were promised a higher pay scale for working continuously during the…show more content… However, after the hurricanes, management decided either not to pay the employees for all of their extra hours or not to pay them overtime rates. Other employees filed lawsuits because the company failed to provide adequate sleeping accommodations or food for those employees who remained on site. In order to better defend the company, George Baker the director of human resource management for Winston Hotels was advised by lawyers to have a disaster preparedness plan because up to this point the company has had no disaster plan and managers ‘‘played it by ear’’ when the hurricanes struck. The only policy that existed was a general policy that each employee had to either report to work during his or her scheduled work hours or give adequate notice so a replacement could be scheduled. This has left the company vulnerable to lawsuits and that will continue to be the case if he doesn’t show that the company follows a clearly communicated