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

[David Andrews]

You could always ask the guy to "show you the specific law."  If you 
don't want to antagonize him, you could say you need to know for future 
reference.  I doubt he can come up with anything!

Dave


On 12/24/2012 7:08 AM, Ross Doerr wrote:
> Hello Kirt:
> I cannot say that I have heard that one in a very long time. The logic 
> of the interpretation of any federal law that you relate in your post 
> is not at all accurate and is, in my view, discriminatory. Were that 
> logic to be widely accepted, any blind person doing a job involving a 
> knife or using one at home would be subject to review by an authority 
> under this law he is referring to.
> You note that he is a family friend and this would be a temporary job, 
> so your reluctance to pursue the matter is understandable. Often 
> preserving family peace is a very good idea in the long run.
> But no, his interpretation of federal law is, in my opinion, inacurate.
> Employers who say things like that have usually spoken with someone 
> who related a horror story of some sort where an individual with a 
> disability either sufferred horrible injury on the job or sued some 
> employer into bankruptcy on the basis of some ridiculous legal claim, 
> and such tales of horror are rarely verifiable.
> I have used sharp knives for a very long time in my home kitchen as 
> well as in cooking classes that I used to teach when I worked at a 
> nonprofit association for the blind teaching home skills.
> Yes folks, in addition to being an attorney I used to teach cooking 
> classes. I am also an avid collector of swords.
> Nobody in any of my classes ever cut their fingers  nor did they 
> injure anyone around them with one.
> This posting is an interesting one to me because I had thought 
> statements by employers such as this one had long since fallen by the 
> way side. Sadly I am wrong.
> Since today is Christmas Eave, I send my holiday wishes out to you 
> Kirt, and to everyone else on this list.
> May you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.
> Ross A. Doerr Attorney at law
> "Eat, drink and be merry, the diet doesn't begin until January 2"
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kirt Manwaring" 
> <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2012 6:53 PM
> Subject: [blindlaw] 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