Experts to Host Free Seminar to Help NY Metro Businesses Prevent and Cope with a Bed Bug Incident

Experts in crisis management, litigation, employment law, bed bugs control, prevention and insurance are offering a free seminar on Thursday, February 24 from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton, 650 Terrace Avenue, in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. The purpose of the event is to help business owners stave off and appropriately handle a bed bugs infestation. Employers can register for the event by clicking on http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BRD9WU3GW/ or by calling 201.336.1361.

Bed bugs indiscriminately infiltrated the New York metropolitan area in 2010 and were found at locations ranging from luxury hotels and apartment complexes to health care facilities, retail stores, office buildings, and iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building and the United Nations. A bed bug incident can be a public relations nightmare and a potential liability for businesses of all types.

"When a bed bug incident occurs, and especially if it involves a high profile destination, it can ignite a media frenzy,” notes Kim Keating, director of marketing and communications for Marsh & McLennan Agency, the insurance brokerage firm that is hosting the program. "This type of media coverage can tarnish a company’s reputation, turn away customers and negatively impact sales and revenue.” To provide guidance on crisis management, including how to communicate a bed bug incident to customers, tenants, residents, patients, employees and the press, Marsh & McLennan Agency has enlisted Keith Zakheim, president of Beckerman, a full-service public relations firm, to speak at the seminar.

"The last thing a business needs or wants to become public knowledge is a lawsuit alleging that the business is the source of bed bugs,” says David Barmak, attorney and one of the presenters at the forthcoming bed bugs seminar. "Businesses often wind up settling claims outside of court to keep publicity at bay; although, given the recent hype surrounding these critters, it is becoming much harder to keep the incidents under covers.”

"Business leaders are beginning to recognize the need to be proactive and vigilant about risk management, loss control and prevention,” says Phil Cooper, CEO and president of BedBugs Central and Cooper Pest Solutions. "There are a number of steps employers can take to minimize the occurrence of bed bugs, and to remediate the problem swiftly, before it gets out of hand.”

"Dealing with a bed bugs infestation in the workplace presents some thorny employment law issues,” says Aron Schwartz, Chair of the Employment Law Group at the law firm Greenbaum Rowe Smith and Davis LLP. "We will discuss these issues and how to approach them at the seminar on February 24.”

Registration for the event is required and seating is limited. For more information on the seminar, contact Caryn Ojeda at 201.336.1361.