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Motion expressing the Sense of Council of Allegheny County supporting House Bill 1350, “Nan's Law,” which would amend the Pennsylvania Innkeepers' Rights Act to provide that an innkeeper require job applicants to undergo a check of criminal history record information if that individual would have access to guest room keys if employed.
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WHEREAS, on December 13, 1996, Nan Toder was murdered as she slept in a Hampton Inn in Crestwood, Illinois by a maintenance manager for the hotel; the manager had entered the room next to Nan's with a master key and then opened the adjoining room door into Nan's room, where he attacked her with a machete and strangled her to death; and
WHEREAS, while there had been a lack of overall guest protection in the hotel, a background check had not been performed on the manager who had a key to every hotel room and access to the hotel computer; if it had been done, the hotel would have known of complaints against him for harassing girlfriends and known that he was a suspect in a major burglary; and
WHEREAS, Nan's Law seeks to make hotels safer by requiring hotels to conduct employee background checks in order to increase minimum hotel security as a means to prevent future tragedies where safety and security are unspoken expectations of hotel guests; and
WHEREAS, while background checks cannot eliminate the possibility of crime in hotels, such an action can go a long way towards addressing those issues of safety and security which can make hotel guests as well as innkeepers more confident of the security of the facility;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, AND IT IS THE SENSE OF THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, that this Body supports House Bill 1350, “Nan's Law,” which would amend the Pennsylvania Innkeepers' Rights Act to provide that an innkeeper require job applicants to undergo a check of criminal history record information if that individual would have access to guest room keys if employed; and, further, requests that...
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