[blindlaw] Federal law and working in large restaurant kitchens?

Beth Taurasi denverqueen1107 at comcast.net
Mon Dec 24 05:22:18 UTC 2012


There is probably no federal law regarding the knife thingy.  
What you said, Kirt, was that he said you couldn't make a salad.  
I know how to make a salad and had to do it in an industrial 
sized kitchen with other people working in it.  Blind people no 
less.  The employer said you couldn't, but there is no way I can 
prove, as an employer at a McDonald's for instance, that blind 
people can't chop lettuce, onions, celery, etc.  The Colorado 
Center for the Blind expected me to chop things, so I chop things 
with knives all the time when I get a chance.  Btw, I have an 
incomplete but albeit good knife set.
Beth

 ----- Original Message -----
From: ray wayne <rwayne1 at nyc.rr.com
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 21:57:21 -0500
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Federal law and working in large 
restaurant kitchens?

I am aware of no such provision. In general, the "direct threat" 
defense must be based on real evidence, which the employer has 
the burden of proving, not just the assumption that a blind 
person using a knife would pose a threat to himself or others.
Ray Wayne


----- Original Message -----
,f3 ,kirt ,manw>+ <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com
,to3 ,,nfb,'net ,bl ,law ,mail+ ,li/ <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>,
Date: Sunday, Dec 23, 2012 18:53:46
Subject: [bllaw] Federal law and working in large restaurant 
kitchens?



 Hello list,
   My name is Kirt Manwaring.  Up until now, I've had no real 
need to
 post to this list (even though I've thoroughly enjoyed watching 
the
 discussion that's taken place here), but I have a question 
that's
 recently come up regarding the legality of a totally blind 
person
 working in the kitchen of a large fast-food restaurant.  There 
is a
 good chance I'll be hired by a local Macdonalds that is owned by 
a
 close family friend; all things considered, he's fairly willing 
to
 give me a fair shot, as far as I can tell.  However, he just 
informed
 me that, due to federal law, I would be unable to do things in 
the
 industrial kitchen that would conceivably threaten my safety or 
the
 safety of those around me.  As an example, he said I would be 
unable
 to make a salad, because I would be using a knife and, acording 
to
 federal law, me using a knife in a kitchen of a large restaurant 
poses
 a safety risk.  I probably won't fight it, because this is only 
a
 temporary job and I doubt I would make any progress, but I'm 
just
 curious if my family friend is correct, or if Macdonalds is 
simply
 misinterpreting the direct threat portion of the ADA.  Any 
thoughts
 would be very much appreciated.
   Cordially submitted,
 Kirt Manwaring

 _______________________________________________
 bllaw mailing list
@> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
@> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info for bllaw:
@> 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rwayne1%40n
yc.rr.com

_______________________________________________
blindlaw mailing list
blindlaw at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
for blindlaw:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/denverqueen
1107%40comcast.net




More information about the BlindLaw mailing list