A long-time housekeeper at the Hilton Irvine filed a class action lawsuit against the hotel, alleging it violated a worker protection ordinance the California city adopted in November.
In the lawsuit, filed with the Orange County Superior Court in conjunction with hospitality union Unite Here Local 11, plaintiff Diana Nufio accused Hilton of failing to comply with the Irvine Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance. The ordinance offers workers additional protections against sexual assault including panic buttons and ensures fair compensation for heavy workloads.
The plaintiff, who has worked at Hilton Irvine for more than 11 years, claims the hotel failed to provide functioning panic buttons and failed to hire 24-hour security to respond to panic button calls. The plaintiff also argues that Hilton delayed for months to post the required notice of the ordinance on guest room and restroom doors and failed to provide adequate training to workers.
The lawsuit was filed after Hilton Irvine housekeepers experienced several incidents of threatening behavior from guests, including guests exposing their genitals and subjecting room attendants to unwanted physical contact, according to the plaintiff.
Hilton could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit also alleges that Hilton failed to offer sufficient pay when housekeepers’ workloads exceeded set limits, as well as failed to keep proper workload records.
“We hope this lawsuit sends a message to all Irvine hotels that they are required to comply with the Ordinance immediately,” said Lauren Teukolsky of Teukolsky Law, who is representing the plaintiff in the case. “There is no excuse for failing to protect hotel workers from the risk of sexual assault and crushing workloads.”
Worker protection ordinances are in effect in several cities across Southern California. In May, a Unite Here-represented hotel worker at Andaz West Hollywood filed a similar class action lawsuit against Hyatt, alleging the hotel did not comply with West Hollywood’s Worker Protection Ordinance.
The Irvine lawsuit was filed a day before thousands of union hotel workers in nearby Los Angeles walked off the job as part of the largest multihotel strike in the city’s history.
