Ordinance 2018-4207ORDINANCE NO. 2018-4207
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 62 OF THE
CITY CODE, ENTITLED "HUMAN RELATIONS," BY CREATING
ARTICLE VI THEREOF, TO BE ENTITLED "PROTECTION OF HOTEL
AND HOSTEL EMPLOYEES FROM ASSAULT AND SEXUAL
HARASSMENT," TO PROVIDE REGULATIONS REGARDING THE
PERSONAL SAFETY OF CERTAIN HOTEL AND HOSTEL
EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES;
AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION,
AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, hotel and hostel employees are vital contributors to the community of the
City of Miami Beach, and the hospitality industry is a profitable and important component of the
City's economy that receives substantial taxpayer support; and
WHEREAS, due to the unique nature of their work, including work performed alone (or
alone with a guest) in a guest room, certain hotel and hostel employees are subjected to a
higher risk of harassment and violence on the job; and
WHEREAS, as a vast majority of hotel and hostel employees are women, the safety and
harassment risks within the hospitality industry are of greater concern; and
WHEREAS, by adopting certain workplace safety protections, the hospitality industry
can improve the personal safety and security of hotel and hostel employees; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that it is appropriate and necessary to protect
employees in the hospitality industry from assault and sexual harassment; and
WHEREAS, the proposed regulations promote the public health, safety, and welfare of
the City, and should be adopted to accomplish the above objectives.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 62 of the Code of the City Miami Beach is hereby amended to create
Article VI thereof, to be entitled "Protection of Hotel Employees from Assault and Sexual
Harassment," as follows:
CHAPTER 62
HUMAN RELATIONS
*
Article VI. Protection of Hotel and Hostel Employees from
Assault and Sexual Harassment.
Sec. 62 -204. Legislative intent.
The legislative intent of this article is to protect certain hotel and hostel employees in the
hospitality industry from violent assault, including sexual assault, and sexual harassment, Hotel
and hostel employees often work alone (or alone with a guest) in a guest room or restroom,
placing the employees at risk of violent assault, including sexual assault, and sexual
harassment.
Sec. 62 -205. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
"Guest" means any invitee to a hotel or hostel, including registered guests, persons
occupying quest rooms with registered quests, visitors invited to quest rooms by a registered
guest or other occupant of a guest room, persons patronizing food or beverage facilities
provided by the hotel or hostel, or any other person whose presence at the hotel or hostel is
permitted by the hotel or hostel employer. The term "guest" does not include employees.
"Guest room" means any room made available by a hotel or hostel for overnight
occupancy by guests.
"Hotel or hostel employer" means any person, including a corporate officer or executive,
who directly or indirectly or through an agent or any other person, including through the services
of a temporary service or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the
wages, hours, or working conditions of any employee, and who owns, controls, and /or operates
a hotel or hostel in the City of Miami Beach; or a person who employs or exercises control over
the wages, hours, or working conditions of any person employed in conjunction with a hotel or
hostel employer in furtherance of the provision of lodging and other related services for the
public.
"Hotel or hostel employee" or "employee" means any natural person who works full -time
or part -time at a hotel or hostel for or under the direction of the hotel or hostel employer, or any
subcontractor of the hotel or hostel employer, for wages or salary or remuneration of any type
under a contract or subcontract of employment, whether express or implied.
"Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited
liability partnership, limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint
venture, agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity, whether domestic or
foreign.
"Restroom" means any room equipped with toilets.
"fie Safety button" or "notification device" means a portable emergency contact
device that is designed so that an employee can quickly and easily activate such button or
device to effectively summon prompt assistance to the employee's location by a hotel or hostel
security officer, manager or other appropriate hotel or hostel staff member designated by the
hotel or hostel employer. [Note to codifier: This definition was relocated alphabetically]
"Sexual harassment" means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors,
and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to or rejection of this
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conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with
an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work
environment.
Sec. 62 -206. Re • uirement to • rovide safet button or notification device to certain
employees.
Each hotel or hostel employer shall:
Provide a safety button or notification device to each hotel or hostel employee that
is a room attendant housekee•in. attendant minibar attendant or room service server=
An em
lo ee ma use the
safet
button or notification device
if the employee reasonably believes there is an ongoing crime, harassment, or other
emergency in the employee's presence. It is recognized that because of the varying size
and physical layout of each hotel, different devices may be appropriate for different
hotels. RaRie Safet buttons and notification devices shall be •rovided b the hotel or
hostel employer at no cost to the employee.
(b) Submit an affidavit, on a form prescribed by the city, with the annual renewal of the
hotel's or hostel's City business tax receipt, stating that the hotel or hostel employer is in
compliance with Sections 62- 206(a) and 62 -207.
The provisions in subsections 62- 206(a) and (b) shall take effect 4armar=y August 1,
2019.
Sec. 62 -207. Determent of assaults by notifying quests of employee protections.
Beginnin• August 1 2019. each hotel and hostel shall place a plainly visible si•n inside of each
• uest room written in a font size of no less than 14 points, that states the following: "For the
protection of our employees, this establishment provides safety buttons or notification devices to
its room attendants, housekeeping attendants, minibar attendants, and room service servers, in
compliance with Chapter 62. article VI of the Code of the City of Miami Beach."
Sec. 62 -208. Enforcement; Penalties; Rights of violators.
Enforcement. The code compliance department shall enforce this article. This shall not
preclude other law enforcement agencies from any action to assure compliance with
this article and all applicable laws. If a violation of this section is observed, the
enforcement officer will be authorized to issue a notice of violation. The notice shall
inform the violator of the nature of the violation, amount of fine for which the violator is
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liable, instructions and due date for paving the fine, that the violation may be appealed
by requesting an administrative hearing before a special master within ten days after
service of the notice of violation, and that the failure to appeal the violation within ten
days of service shall constitute an admission of the violation and a waiver of the right
to a hearing.
(b) Penalties; fines.
The following civil fines shall be imposed for violations of this Article:
(1) If the violation is the first offense, a person shall receive a written
warning;
(2) If the violation is the second violation within the preceding six months,
a person shall receive a civil fine of $500.00;
(3) If the violation is the third violation within the preceding six months, a
person shall receive a civil fine of $1,000.00; and
Leti. If the violation is the fourth or subsequent violation within the
preceding six months, a person shall receive a civil fine of $2,000.00.
Rights of violators; payment of fine; right to appear; failure to pay civil fine or to appeal;
appeals from decisions of the special master.
(1) A violator who has been served with a notice of violation must elect to
either:
a. Pay the civil fine in the manner indicated on the notice of
violation; or
b, Request an administrative hearing before a special master to
appeal the notice of violation, which must be requested within
ten days of the service of the notice of violation.
(2) The procedures for appeal by administrative hearing of the notice of
violation shall be as set forth in sections 30 -72 and 30 -73 of this
Code. A request for the administrative hearing must be accompanied
by a fee as approved by a resolution of the city commission, which
shall be refunded if the named violator prevails in the appeal.
(3) If the named violator, after issuance of the notice of violation, fails to
pay the civil fine, or fails to timely request an administrative hearing
before a special master, the special master may be informed of such
failure by the code enforcement officer. The failure of the named
violator to appeal the decision of the code enforcement officer within
the prescribed time period shall constitute a waiver of the violator's
right to an administrative hearing before the special master, and shall
be treated as an admission of the violation, for which fines and
penalties shall be assessed accordingly.
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(4) A certified copy of an order imposing a fine may be recorded in the
public records, and thereafter shall constitute a lien upon any real or
personal property owned by the violator, which may be enforced in the
same manner as a court judgment by the sheriffs of this state,
including levy against the violator's real or personal property, but shall
not be deemed to be a court judgment except for enforcement
purposes. On or after the 61st day following the recording of any such
lien that remains unpaid, the city may foreclose or otherwise execute
upon the lien.
(5) Any party aggrieved by a decision of a special master may appeal that
decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
n The special master shall be prohibited from hearing the merits of the
notice of violation or considering the timeliness of a request for an
administrative hearing if the violator has failed to request an
administrative hearing within ten days of the service of the notice of
violation.
(7) The special master shall not have discretion to alter the penalties
prescribed in subsection (c)(1) herein.
SECTION 2. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, clause or provision of this Ordinance is held invalid, the
remainder shall not be affected by such invalidity.
SECTION 4. CODIFICATION.
It is the intention of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, and it is
hereby ordained that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made part of the
Code of the City of Miami Beach, Florida. The sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered
or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to
"section," article," or other appropriate word.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect on the 1st day of August, 2019.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this oZS day of Jki , 2018.
ATTEST:
bv,
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk
Underline denotes additions
Strike through denotes deletions
Double underline denotes additions after First Readi
denotes deletions after First R
an Gelber, Mayor
(Sponsored by Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez)
F:WTTO \TURN \ORDINANCE \Protection of Hospitality Employees.doox
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OVED AS TO
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Date
Agenda Item 13S H
Date -7-02s---13
MIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drlve, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miomikeachfl.gov
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Me
FROM: Raul J. Aguila, City Attorn
DATE: July 25, 2018
SUBJEC AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 62 OF
THE CITY CODE, ENTITLED "HUMAN RELATIONS," BY
CREATING ARTICLE VI THEREOF, TO BE ENTITLED
"PROTECTION OF HOTEL AND HOSTEL EMPLOYEES FROM
ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT," TO PROVIDE
REGULATIONS REGARDING THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF
CERTAIN HOTEL AND HOSTEL EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR
ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES; AND PROVIDING FOR
REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE,
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
Updated Memorandum
bars of the City Commission
Pursuant to the request of Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, the attached revised Ordinance is
substituted for the Ordinance previously submitted for consideration by the Mayor and City Commission.
The attached revised Ordinance amends the signage notification provisions in Section 62 -207.
Attachment: Revised Ordinance
DT /mmm
MIAMI BEAC
Ordinances - R5 H
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Raul J. Aguila, City Attorney
DATE: July 25, 2018
1 :40 p.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
SUBJECT AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 62 OF THE CITY CODE,
ENTITLED "HUMAN RELATIONS," BY CREATING ARTICLE VI THEREOF, TO BE
ENTITLED "PROTECTION OF HOTEL AND HOSTEL EMPLOYEES FROM
ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT," TO PROVIDE REGULATIONS
REGARDING THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF CERTAIN HOTEL AND HOSTEL
EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES; AND
PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
RECOMMENDATION
Pursuant to the request of Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, and the recommendation of the
Neighborhood /Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) at its meeting on June 20, 2018, a revised and
streamlined Ordinance was submitted for consideration by the Mayor and City Commission on First
Reading on June 27, 2018. The revised Ordinance also addressed comments previously expressed
at the April 11, 2018 City Commission meeting, which resulted in this matter being referred back to
the NCAC, where it had been initially discussed on February 21, 2018 following a prior City
Commission referral.
The attached Ordinance includes additional revisions, approved at First Reading on June 27, 2018,
which amend the reference to a "safety" instead of "panic" button, revised the type of employees to
which safety buttons must be provided, and amended the effective date from January 1, 2019 to
August 1, 2019 to allow additional time for compliance.
The Ordinance requires hotel and hostel employers to: a) provide a safety button or notification
device to certain hotel or hostel employees; b) place a sign on the inside of each guest room door
notifying guests that a safety button /notification device has been provided to such employees; and c)
submit an affidavit with their annual BTR renewal stating that they are in compliance with the above
requirements. Following an initial warning, penalties of $500, $1,000, and $2,000 will be imposed,
respectfully, for second, third, and fourth and subsequent violations within a preceding six (6) month
period.
The Code Compliance Department has advised that existing resources will be utilized to enforce this
Ordinance.
Page 952 of 1464
Legislative Tracking
Office of the City Attorney/Code Compliance
Sponsor
Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Protection of Hospitality Employee - 2nd Rdg
Page 953 of 1464