Categories: Hospitality

By Kara M. Maciel and Jordan B. Schwartz

A broadly worded settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Lesley University extends the Americans with Disabilities Act’s protections to individuals with severe allergies. This new, expansive interpretation of the term “disability” could increase potential legal exposure to failure to accommodate claims under the ADA, making it more important than ever to ensure that your restaurants and bars are equipped to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with severe food allergies.

Tips to Accommodate Food Allergies

There are many practical strategies that hospitality operators can implement to reduce Americans with Disabilities Act exposure regarding allergens:

  • Display signs concerning food allergies and identify foods that contain specific allergens.
  • Evaluate the feasibility of providing gluten- and allergen-free food options.
  • Provide a dedicated alternative space to store and prepare foods to avoid cross-contamination, or if space does not allow for that, use different utensils, cutting boards and other preparation materials.
  • Use vendors who offer food without allergens.
  • Alert customers with food allergies via marketing materials and your website to notify you in advance so that you can make every effort to accommodate their particular allergies and other dietary needs.
  • Create internal policy and procedures for manufacturer recalls and customer complaints.
  • Educate your staff about common food allergies and provide ongoing training to your staff so they can appropriately respond to questions about food ingredients and requests for alternatives.

Title III of the ADA requires hospitality operators to maintain facilities that are accessible to individuals with disabilities, and make their goods and services available to and usable by individuals with disabilities on an equal basis with members of the general public. This includes making reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures when necessary to serve customers/guests with disabilities.

Lesley University had required all students living on campus to participate in, and pay for, its meal service plan, even if some students with severe allergies could not eat the food available through the plan without risk of illness. Several students complained that the school’s food services were inadequate for their needs, and alleged that the university had violated the ADA by neither addressing the needs of students with food allergies nor ensuring them an equivalent dining experience.

The DOJ commenced an investigation, and charged that the university violated the ADA by failing to accommodate the special food needs of these students, reasoning that they could not fully and equally enjoy the university’s dining services. On Dec. 21, 2012, the DOJ announced its settlement with Lesley University, which required the university to provide allergen-free options in its food lines, and develop individualized meal plans for students with food allergies.

While the DOJ settlement agreement refers only to universities and students, it has now, for the first time, identified all severe food allergies as disabilities, which could trigger reasonable accommodation requirements of the ADA. This settlement makes it possible that when this issue is litigated, the courts will broadly apply the terms of this agreement to all employers that serve food in the workplace. As a result, the settlement is likely to have wide-ranging implications for all businesses that serve food, either as a primary or secondary practice. Thus, hospitality operators should evaluate their practices for offering and providing accommodations for food allergies to minimize any potential exposure to disability discrimination charges under the ADA.

While there may not be a “one size fits all” solution to this issue, hospitality companies can take prudent steps to ensure that guests with allergies have the ability to fully and equally enjoy the dining services and the social benefits that accompany such services (see sidebar).

Depending on the size and resources of your company, many strategies to provide alternatives may not be practical or feasible. However, to ensure compliance with the ADA and avoid a civil lawsuit or DOJ investigation, hospitality operators that serve food to the public must be proactive in at least considering, if not implementing, some of the allergen protective measures.

Reprinted with permission from Hospitality Law. Copyright 2013 by LRP Publications. Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418. All rights reserved. For details on this or other related products, visit www.shoplrp.com/hospitality.html or call toll free 1-800-341-7874.

Back to Workforce Bulletin Blog

Search This Blog

Blog Editors

Related Services

Topics

Archives

Jump to Page

Subscribe

Sign up to receive an email notification when new Workforce Bulletin posts are published:

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.