Understanding the General Duty Clause – Why Your Training Responsibilities Matter

When it comes to workplace safety, training is not just about checking a box—it’s about protecting our people, our guests, and our business. One of the most important legal standards we are held to is something many overlook: the General Duty Clause of the OSHA Act.

What Is the General Duty Clause?

The General Duty Clause (OSHA Act, Section 5(a)(1)) requires that:

"Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm."

This clause is broad by design. It allows OSHA to hold employers accountable for hazards even if there is no specific regulation for that risk. That includes things like:

• Excessive heat exposure

• Workplace violence

• Human trafficking risks

• Slip and fall hazards

• Inadequate training on cleaning chemicals or safety procedures

Why This Matters to You as a GM

Some leaders may think, “We’ve never had an incident—so we’re fine.” But that mindset is exactly what leads to citations and costly claims when something does happen. OSHA’s job is to look at whether we recognized a hazard and failed to act—not whether we’ve been lucky enough to avoid it.

If an employee gets hurt and hasn’t been properly trained—or if reasonable precautions weren’t taken—your property could face:

• OSHA citations and fines

• Workers’ comp claims

• Increased insurance premiums

• Damage to brand and trust

• Legal liability for failing to meet your duty of care

What You Can Do

• Ensure all OSHA-required training is completed on time and documented.

• Take every policy seriously—even if you’ve never had an issue.

• Create and maintain a workplace where safety is a daily priority, not an afterthought.

• Understand that “It hasn’t happened to me” is not a defense.

We don’t just train because we’re required to—we train to protect our teams, our guests, and our future.

If you have questions about the General Duty Clause or want help reviewing your current training practices, please reach out. We're here to support you.

Thank you for leading by example.

WE'VE HEARD YOUR FEEDBACK

Thank you to everyone for your patience with the new WHGU learning management system.  Over the past several months, we know you have had an opportunity to get into the system, navigate through the system and begin to incorporate the LMS into your everyday training environment, whether it is with your new hires or existing team! 

We are grateful for the feedback you have so passionately provided the training team, and we just wanted to update you on a few things that we are working to improve:

• Offering Training in multiple languages.  If you recently viewed the new Use of Force training, you may have noticed that it was offered in multiple languages, beyond English and Spanish.  We are exploring this feature for additional trainings in the system to ensure the GSR's experience is more personal to them once they log into the system.  We have heard feedback specifically on Portuguese... But please know we are looking at leveraging the system with more than 50+ languages.  

  
  

• Training that needs to be completed on Day 1 of a new hire's RRI West journey.  Please know that OSHA is the one true training component that is required at the beginning.  For the most part... you have 3 weeks to complete ALL new hire training.   

  
  

• As a reminder, if you have an employee who regularly works in more than one department, you need to notify training so that they can assign appropriate classes to that employee.  Regularly is the key word here.  It is not for someone who "just helps out" or is covering a call off.  

  
  

• And finally, we have heard concerns about the training time needed to complete the monthly housekeeping training.  The answer is YES... you CAN complete this training as a group to save you and your team time!  

  
  

So, again, thank you all.  We are working on improvements all the time and will keep you posted down the road as we continue to perfect the learning experience!  Any questions, concerns or additional feedback - please send to: training@whgextstay.com.  

Email Best Practices: Protecting Sensitive Information

Effective email communication is essential in our daily operations, but it’s equally important to follow best practices to protect sensitive information and maintain compliance with PCI (Payment Card Industry) and PII (Personally Identifiable Information) standards.

Avoid Using Names in the Subject Line

When sending emails, do not include anyone’s name in the subject line. This helps protect privacy and ensures that sensitive details are not immediately visible. Instead, use general descriptors or relevant topics while keeping the subject concise and professional.

Encrypt Emails Containing Personal Information

If you need to send an email that contains personal or sensitive information, it must be encrypted to comply with PCI/PII requirements. Since we use Outlook, follow these steps to encrypt your message:

For Outlook Desktop App:

1. Compose a new email as you normally would.

2. Click on the Options tab.

3. Select Encrypt and choose “Encrypt-Only” or “Do Not Forward” depending on your security needs.

4. Complete your email and send it.

For Outlook on the Web (OWA):

1. Start a new email.

2. At the bottom of the message, click on the “...” (More options) button.

3. Select Encrypt and choose the appropriate encryption setting.

4. Send your email securely.

By following these simple steps, we can ensure that sensitive information is properly protected and that our company remains compliant with industry standards. Thank you for your attention to these best practices!