Compton : Hotel Hiring Practices Not as Advertised, Council Told

After years of waiting, the Compton Lazben Hotel finally opened for business two months ago, but the Compton City Council is getting complaints about employment practices there.

Sheila McDaniel, the hotel’s former personnel director, apologized to the council Tuesday for telling it two months ago that the hotel was honoring its management contract with the city and hiring Compton residents. McDaniel, who is not a city resident and no longer works for the hotel, said 66 Compton residents who were on the payroll in September have since been laid off or put on call, although the hotel is hiring from other areas, she said.

Bernice Woods was the only council member to defend the hotel. “The hotel is one of the best things that has happened to Compton in a long time.” People who have been fired, Woods said, were “insubordinate.”

The City Council ordered its staff to prepare a report on hiring at the hotel, which was built by a private developer, although the city owns the land and helped finance construction.

Jona M. Liebrecht, head of the hotel management firm, said Wednesday morning that the hotel is honoring its commitment to hire Compton residents. “We are adjusting to our business,” he said. “We let some people go. We took some back and it will go on like this until we get steady. Every hotel in the country does it.”