Law and Ethics Flashcards

A bartender serves several drinks to a patron who is slurring their speech and has difficulty walking. The patron then leaves the bar, drives their car, and causes an accident that injures another person. Under which legal principle could the bar be held liable for the injuries?

Answer: Dram Shop Acts

Dram Shop Acts are state laws that impose civil liability on establishments that sell alcoholic beverages to visibly intoxicated persons or minors who subsequently cause harm to a third party. The bar could be held liable because they continued to serve a patron who was clearly intoxicated.

A guest with a hearing impairment requests a room with a visual fire alarm and a vibrating alarm clock. According to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what is the hotel's obligation?

Answer: The hotel must provide the requested items, as they are considered reasonable auxiliary aids and services.

Title III of the ADA requires places of public accommodation, such as hotels, to provide auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities. A visual fire alarm and a vibrating alarm clock are common examples of such aids for guests with hearing impairments, and the hotel must provide them to ensure equal access to safety and amenities.

A hotel guest leaves a valuable diamond necklace in their room's unlocked drawer, and it is stolen. The hotel has a secure safe available for guest use at the front desk and has posted notices in the guest rooms informing them of the safe's availability and the hotel's limited liability, in compliance with state law. Which statement is the most accurate regarding the hotel's liability?

Answer: The hotel's liability is likely eliminated or significantly limited by the state's innkeeper's statute.

Most states have innkeeper's laws or statutes that limit a hotel's liability for the loss of guest valuables. To receive this legal protection, the hotel must provide a safe for guest use and post notices informing guests of this fact. By complying with these requirements, the hotel's financial responsibility for the stolen necklace is typically capped at a specific amount or eliminated entirely.

Which of the following best describes the legal duty of care a hotel owes to its registered guests?

Answer: To exercise reasonable care to protect them against foreseeable dangers.

Under premises liability law, guests are considered 'invitees,' to whom the hotel owes the highest duty of care. This duty is to exercise 'reasonable care,' which involves inspecting the property for hazards, correcting or warning of known dangers, and protecting guests from foreseeable harm. It is not a guarantee of absolute safety, as unforeseeable events can occur.

A hotel's purchasing manager has a sibling who owns a local produce supply company. The manager consistently awards contracts to their sibling's company without seeking competitive bids, even though other suppliers offer similar quality for lower prices. This situation primarily represents what type of ethical breach?

Answer: A conflict of interest.

A conflict of interest occurs when a person's private interests interfere, or appear to interfere, with the interests of their employer. In this case, the manager's personal relationship with the supplier is influencing business decisions, potentially at the financial expense of the hotel. This compromises the manager's duty to act in the best interest of their employer.

A hotel front desk agent resigns after enduring months of severe and pervasive unwelcome comments and actions of a sexual nature from a supervisor. The agent's resignation could be legally considered which of the following?

Answer: Constructive discharge

Constructive discharge is a legal doctrine that applies when an employer creates working conditions that are so intolerable that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign. In this scenario, the severe and pervasive sexual harassment created such an environment, meaning the resignation is treated as a form of wrongful termination.