Photo courtesy of Alexius Horatius
BOSTON – The Massachusetts House of Representatives this past week unanimously voted in support of a bill requiring in-state hospitality workers to receive training to identity and report suspected instances of human trafficking.
House Bill 4360 would require licensed innholders – a classification that includes hotels, motels, and other lodging facilities – to establish a human trafficking recognition training program for employees, as well as requiring posted signage that includes the phone number for the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
All training providers must be approved according to state standards by the Attorney General’s office.
As a vacation destination, Cape Cod has some of the highest density of hotels and motels in the state.
“This legislation is about saving lives and giving people in our communities the tools to do something when they see something,” said Barnstable State Representative Steve Xiarhos, a three-term member of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. “It’s about protecting the innocent and stopping the evil that threatens them.”
Exemptions are included for small-scale lodging operators with three rooms or fewer, as well as Airbnb type rentals.
The bill was endorsed by the Massachusetts Lodging Association and the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
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