On Tuesday, June 11, 2019– New Jersey became the first state in the U.S to passed a law requiring hotels to provide ‘panic buttons’ that employees can activate in case of an emergency. According to the Senate, No 2986 by the State of New Jersey states that “A hotel employer shall provide a panic button to each hotel employee assigned to work in a guest room without any other employees present, at no cost to the employee. An employee may use the panic button if the employee reasonably believes there is an ongoing crime, harassment, or other emergencies in the employee’s presence.”
This new law will ensure that all hotel employees will have the means to summon assistance discreetly if they are in danger. “We must protect the safety of workers in the hospitality industry,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a written release. Governor Murphy’s push for the bill to protect the workers in the hospitality industry follows an incident that occurred in 2018 when a cleaner at Bally's Atlantic City Hotel and Casino was sexually assaulted when a guest pushed her into of of the hotel rooms. Although New Jersey is the first state to require a panic device for hotel staff, the push for the use of panic devices has received wide support within the hospitality industry over the past year. Other States are also being considered such as Illinois, Washington, and Florida. The legislation will additionally require hotel employers to develop and maintain a program educating employees on the use of panic devices and their rights to use one. The five major hotel companies: Hilton, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, IHG, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts have pledged to roll out the devices at all their U.S. hotels by 2020.
How Scatterling is Providing Safety to US Hotel Workers
The bill notes that a hotel employer who violates any provision of this act shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for the first violation and $10,000 for each subsequent violation. Scatterling aims to solve this problem by providing hotel staff with a peace of mind. Our check-in system allows hotel and hospitality staff to check-in before and in intervals during their shift depending on the workers hazard risk level. In addition, Scatterling provides personal Bluetooth panic button also referred to as employee safety device (ESD) that allows employees to summon help in an emergency if they feel they are in danger.
HIGH RISK CHECK-IN TIMERS AND PROACTIVE NOTIFICATIONS : A housekeeper cleaning a room at odd hours of the night can customize the check-in timer of the app for a high-risk scenario, by shortening the check-in duration to under 15 minutes. If a staff member does not check-in within this set interval, all of the emergency contacts set to receive notifications will be contacted immediately. If a housekeeper was to enter a room in the middle of the night, they may face being confronted with hotel guest who are irate or intoxicated. If they did not confirm they are safe after the scheduled room visit, a coworker and supervisor would be immediately notified of a possible emergency, and be sent the exact location, and any other details the housekeeper have previously supplied, such as voicemails and work itinerary.
EMERGENCY PANIC BUTTON: Scatterling has integration to manually signal for help with a bluetooth panic button. When triggered, all of the emergency contacts will be notified of a confirmed emergency, and sent any voicemails that have previously recorded, details of location, and work profile.
EASY REPORTING: Generate reports with GPS and check-in history to manage your people or show incident reports and show compliance.
LIMIT RISK & LIABILITY EXPOSURE: Reduce your risk of litigation and cost with preventative technology and be prepared if something does happen.
FULL DEVICE INTEGRATION: Scatterling can be used on any device, such as smartphones, laptops, landlines, that employees might already be carrying with them. Therefore, they do not need to carry any new or excess equipment with them at any time.