Scatterling’s panic button, also known as an Employee Safety Device (ESD), is a wearable Bluetooth device that is compatible with the Scatterling lone worker monitoring app. This device’s most notable advantage is the user’s ability to signal an emergency discreetly and instantaneously. A panic button is a simple and effective way to signal for help with the touch of a button. Panic buttons are essential for employees who are required to work in isolation or in the presence of potentially violent or irate clients. Employees working in real estate, oil and gas, the water sector, the utility sector, mining, healthcare, and agriculture would all benefit immensely from the use of Bluetooth panic buttons. Although these devices are beneficial across a broad spectrum of industries, they are still optional in many regions. However, laws are rapidly spreading throughout the United States that requires employers to provide these panic buttons to their staff. This article will cover the USA hotel industry specifically.
Why Bluetooth Panic Buttons are Necessary for Hotels
Due to the unique nature of work that many hotel staff performs, workers may find themselves either working alone or working in the presence of unknown guests. This environment puts hotel staff at significant risk of harassment, violence, sexual assault, and other crimes. In fact, 9 out of 10 hospitality workers say they have experienced abuse in the workplace. To protect hotel staff from threatening behavior, panic button laws are rapidly spreading across the US. Here is a list of cities and states, as well as their specific mandates, that already require the use of panic buttons. We will begin with the City of Sacramento, who just passed an ordinance on Tuesday, January 14th!
City of Sacramento
On January 13, Sacramento City Council approved a new law that will require all hotels and motels in the city to provide staff with personal workplace panic buttons. As Sacramento’s tourism market continues to grow, the city wants to make sure that it is protecting those employees who are supporting this key economic driver. The Bluetooth panic buttons must be portable, wearable, and provided free of charge to all employees who are required to clean guest rooms in the absence of other hotel employees. They are intended to be activated if there is an emergency or the threat of one and will alert hotel security staff of the distressed employee’s location. This new law will be effective July 14, 2020, but hotel employers in the area are advised to begin the implementation of workplace panic buttons as soon as possible. If an employer does not comply with the ruling, they may be subject to a fine between $25 and $2,500 per each day the violation ensues.
City of Oakland: Measure Z
Measure Z, effective July 1, 2020, will require all Oakland hotels with 50 or more guest rooms to provide hotel employees who work alone with Bluetooth panic buttons at no cost to the employee. The panic buttons will be used to report threatening or violent behavior and will alert a designated employee. The City of Oakland defines a hotel employee as someone who works an average of 5 hours per week for 4 weeks providing service in an Oakland hotel. Devices that only make a loud noise will not meet the requirements of the hotel workers’ protection law. Instead, the panic button must notify a designated monitor when activated. The City of Oakland suggests that a company assign secondary responders, in addition to designated primary responders, for back-up reasons. Although the law does not require employees to physically carry the panic button, it would be in their best interest to do so.
State of New Jersey: Senate No. 2986
The hotel industry is a lucrative and necessary aspect of New Jersey’s economy. Due to the nature of their work, hotel staff are often required to work alone, and in unsafe, vulnerable conditions. Thus, it is essential to preserve the safety of hotel employees. Senate No. 2986 has required all New Jersey hotels with more than 100 rooms to provide hotel staff with a Bluetooth panic button since June 11, 2019. Panic buttons must be small, lightweight, and waterproof. Designated security employees are notified instantly if staff signal an emergency. An employer who fails to provide his or her employees with panic buttons could be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for the first infraction and up to $10,000 for subsequent violations, collectible by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
State of Washington: Senate Bill 5258
All hotels and motels in the State of Washington with sixty rooms or more must provide employees with personal panic buttons. This law just recently came into effect on January 1, 2020 to effectively prevent instances of sexual harassment and sexual assault of isolated workers. All other hotels and motels with fewer than sixty rooms have until January 1, 2021 to comply. The Department of Labor is expected to provide guidance for hotel employers concerning the implementation of panic buttons.
State of Illinois: Hotel Employee Safety Act
By July 1, 2020, every hotel in the State of Illinois with over 100 guest rooms will be obligated to provide part-time and full-time hotel staff with wireless workplace panic buttons. Like Oakland, Washington, and New Jersey, the workplace panic button must come at no cost to the employee. If an employee is required to perform their duties in guest rooms or restrooms where no other staff members are present, he or she should be equipped. Workplace panic buttons will alert monitors if there is danger, and employers are forbidden from retaliating against an employee who uses their panic button in honest and appropriate circumstances. Hotel companies could be subject to a fine between $250 and $500 for each violation of the Act, with each day that an offense continues counting as a separate infraction.
City of Miami Beach: Ordinance No. 2018-4207
Similar to New Jersey, The City of Miami Beach recognizes that hospitality workers are essential components of the State’s economy. These workers are also vulnerable to certain risks associated with working in isolation or in the presence of unfamiliar guests, and their personal safety must be protected. Thus, the law was passed on August 1, 2019, that requires all Miami Beach hotels to provide staff who are required to work alone with personal panic buttons. Workplace panic buttons should be activated if an employee believes that an ongoing crime is present. If an employer fails to comply, a written warning is sent. If an employer commits a second violation within six months, they will receive a civil fine of $500, followed by a $1,000 fine for the third offense and a $2,000 for the fourth and all other ensuing offenses.
City of Seattle: Chapter 14.25 Hotel Employees Health and Safety
Considering the unique risks associated with working alone in hotel rooms, Seattle has not taken the proper steps to adequately preserve the personal safety of hotel employees in the past. Thus, panic buttons must be provided to all hotel employees who provide in-room services for hotels with sixty rooms or more, regardless of that employee’s position. As always, these workplace panic buttons must come at no cost to the employee. They should be easy to carry, able to call for immediate help, and must not require continued activation by the employee. If an employee uses their panic button under appropriate circumstances, they may leave the scene and wait for help elsewhere. Hotel employers cannot retaliate against the employee for acting in this manner.
City of Chicago: Municipal Code 4-6-180
It is the responsibility of Chicago hotel employers to equip staff who ‘clean, inventory, inspect, or restock supplies in a guest room or restroom’ under circumstances where no other hotel staff is present, with a work panic button or notification device. This applies to all employees, regardless of their position at the hotel, and has been in effect since July 1, 2018. Like all other regions, these devices must be provided at no cost to the employee, and adverse action must not be taken against any employee who reasonably uses their panic button. If an employer does not comply, they may be faced with a fine between $250 and $500 per violation. Bluetooth panic buttons must be working correctly, charged, portable, activated, able to summon timely assistance, and must not require continued activation by the employee.
City of Santa Monica: Chapter 4.67 Hotel Worker Protection
Given that tourism is a substantial contributor to Santa Monica’s economy, the safety of hospitality staff is of utmost importance. To preserve the safety of hotel staff, Bluetooth panic buttons must be used to notify someone if there is an emergency or crime. As previously outlined, other cities in California, as well as numerous other states, have complied with local legislation aimed to protect hotel workers. Following suit, recent legislation passed on January 1, 2020, now requires all hotel employers to provide hotel staff with workplace panic buttons. These regulations prevail regardless of the size of the hotel. A security guard, manager, or supervisory hotel staff member must be designated to provide instant help if an emergency is signaled.
With numerous cities and states beginning to enforce these regulations on January 1, 2020, and a handful of others already effective for over one year, it is predicted that panic button laws will only continue to spread across the US. Legally required or not, Bluetooth panic buttons are an effective lone worker safety solution that can be used in unison with lone worker monitoring apps like Scatterling. Is your hotel doing everything it can to keep its staff safe?
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