Course Information
Course Number: HMGT 3610
Course Title: Hospitality Legal Environment
Course Description: Overview of legal implications of acts by hospitality professionals, employees, guests and visitors. Analysis of rights, responsibilities and risk management of hospitality industry establishments. Discussion of historical and current liability, governmental regulations, predictability and provability in the environment.
Credits / Hours: 3 Units
Section Number: 3601-OL80, 3601-OL82
Pre/Co-requisites: HMGT 2302, HMGT 2303, HMGT 2304, & HMGT 2305
Class Meetings
Online Space(s):
- https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/Claude-HMGT3601
- Add information about video conferencing tools
In-person Location:
Faculty Information
Professor(s) Name: Jean F. Claude, MA, CHE, CCE
Online Office Hours/Information:
- Thursday 2:00 -4:00 p.m.
In-person Office Hours/Location:
- Wednesday 12:00 -2:00 p.m.
Contact Information
- jclaude@citytech.cuny.edu
- Phone: 845-699-3967
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of HMGT 3601, students will be able to
- Comprehend basic contract law, City, State and Federal Civil Rights Law and the variety of laws that apply to the employment setting.
- Extend legal reasoning to business formation and operation.
- Recognize the importance of risk management in the everyday operations of a hospitality entity.
- Describe a hotel’s duty under common law to receive guests, its obligation to protect its guests, steps in limiting its liability for loss of guest valuables.
- Explain food and beverage sales warranty of merchantability, restaurants as insurers of wholesome food.
Teaching/Learning Methods
Technology Requirements
Class Meeting Schedule
| Week | Date | Lecture Topic | Required Reading | Assignment Due/Exam |
| 1 | Aug 26 | Legal Concepts: Common Law, Civil Law Ethics and the Law Federal, State and Local regulations | Chapters 1, 2 & 3 | |
| 2 | Sep 2 | Business Contracts 8 Steps to follow Uniform Commercial Code | Chapters 4 & 5 | Homework #1 |
| 3 | Sep 9 | Introduction to Property, Purchasing Property Financing the Purchase of Property Leasing Property, Respecting Intellectual Property Rights | Chapter 6 | Quiz 1 (Chapters 1-5) |
| 4 | Sept 16 | Employee Selection Discrimination in the Selection Process Verification of Eligibility to Work The Employment Relationship | Chapter 7 | Ethical Reasoning Case Study |
| 5 | Sept 23 | Workplace Discrimination and Sexual Harassment, Family and Medical Leave Act Compensation, Managing Employee Performance, Unemployment Claims Employment Records and Retention | Chapter 8 | Quiz 2 (Chapters 6&7) |
| 6 | Sept 30 | Duties and Obligations of a Hospitality Operator, Theories of Liability Legal Damages, Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, Responding to an Incident | Chapter 9 | Homework #2 |
| 7 | Oct 7 | Mid-tern Examination | Chapters 1 – 9 | Mid-Term Examination (Chapters 1– 9) |
| 8 | Oct 21 | Accommodating Guests, Guest Privacy Facility Maintenance, Responsibilities to Non-guests, Removal Of Guests | Chapter 10 | Homework #3 |
| 9 | Oct 28 | Liability for Guests’ Property Bailment’s Property with Unknown Ownership | Chapter 11 | Quiz 3 (Chapter 10) |
| 10 | Nov 4 | Serving Food Truth in Menu Laws Serving Alcohol | Chapter 12 | Homework #4 |
| 11 | Nov 11 | Travel Agents and Tour Operators Transportation and Common Carriers Tourism, Online Travel Sales | Chapter 13 | Quiz 4 (Chapters 11&12) |
| 12 | Nov 18 | The Importance of a Protected Environment Safety and Security Programs Crimes Against Hospitality Businesses Crisis Management Programs | Chapter 14 | Homework #5 |
| 13 | Dec 2 | Introduction to Insurance, Types of Coverage Selecting an Insurance Carrier Selecting the Insurance Policy, Policy Analysis | Chapter 15 | Quiz 5 (Chapters 13&14) |
| 14 | Dec 9 | Review for Final Exam | Chapters 1-15 | |
| 15 | Dec 16 | Final Examination | Final Examination (Chapters 1-15) |
The contents herein and order are subject to change without notice at the discretion of the instructor.
Schedule
Grading Policy
Grading Procedure
Class Participation 15 %
Homework Case Study 5 %
Ethical Reasoning Case Study 5 %
Quizzes 20 %
Midterm 25 %
Final Exam 30 %
TOTAL 100%
Class Etiquette & Netiquette
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Attendance/Participation
Add attendance/participation policy.
Academic Integrity Policy
Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting and citation of sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the college recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension and expulsion. More information about the College’s policy on Academic Integrity may be found in the College Catalog.
Course Resources
Required Text
Barth, S. (2017). Hospitality law: managing legal issues in the hospitality industry (5th ed.).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Son.
Suggested Texts and Readings
Jeffries, J. (2019). Understanding hospitality law (5th ed.). Lansing, MI: Educational Institute of America Hotel & Motel Association.
Additional Resources
Liuzzo, A, (2019). Essentials of business law (10th ed,), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Kubasek, N. (2019) Dynamic business law: the essentials (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Langvardt, A, (2019) Business law: the ethical, global and e-commerce environment. (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Barnes, A. (2018). Law for Business (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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