Leading the Foodservice/ Hospitality Industry
1200 SEVENTEEN STREET N.W. WASHINGTON DC 20036-3097 202/331-5900 FAX: 202/331-2429
[National Restaurant Association Logo] 
MEMORANDUM
TO: Disability/ Health L.A.s
FROM: Mark Gorman
	Senior Director for Government Affairs
	National Restaurant Association
RE: The Chapman amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The House of Representatives recently passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by a 403-20 margin. During House floor consideration of the ADA bill, a number of vital improvements were made to the Committee bill. These improvements add an essential degree of flexibility and sensitivity to the ADA legislation.

Of special importance to the restaurant industry is the Chapman amendment, which was offered by Democratic representative Jim Chapman of Texas. The Chapman foodhandling amendment was approved – with bipartisan support – in a very close vote.

Because the vote in the House was close, and because the Chapman amendment is so important to the foodservice industry, it is expected that a “motion to instruct” the conferees to accept the Chapman language will be made on the Senate floor this week. This motion is one of several that may be offered on outstanding issues relative to the ADA bill.

The National Restaurant Association strongly urges a “yes” vote on the motion to instruct the conferees to accept the Chapman amendment.
The Chapman amendment addresses the sensitive question of employees in the foodservice industry who have contagious or infectious diseases and who directly handle food. Specially, the Chapman amendment modifies the previous language of the ADA bill, which prohibited employers from moving employees with certain infectious diseases out of a foodhandling position and into some other hob within the establishment.

Under the Chapman amendment, an employer has the option of moving an employee with an infectious or communicable disease of public health significance out of a foodhandling position and into another job within the establishment. The employee must be qualified for the position, and the employee can sustain no economic damage form the change.

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The Chapman amendment strikes a sensitive balance in response to a real public health concern. It provides employers with the flexibility necessary to respond to these concerns, while protecting the economic and job security of employees.

It should be pointed out that the restaurant industry is one of the most highly competitive industries in America. Profit margins are low, and eating alternatives are plentiful. Local consumer reactions to perceived public health risks can be swift and devasting.

The Chapman amendment came about in response to the fact that numerous foodservice establishments have been forced out of business because of public reactions to health rumors – both ill and well-founded. A policy which would force restaurants to close their doors to business and let go all of their employees because of a rigid determination of the job options of one employee simply does not make sense.

We at the National Restaurant Association wish that the Chapman amendment was not needed. Because, in its definition, it includes diseases which have not been proven to be transmittable through food – like AIDS. The National Restaurant Association has long been a leader in the effort to differentiate between the facts and the fallacies of food safety. We have committed significant financial resources to this effort. The foodservice industry also has taken the lead in employing the disabled, with a greater number of disabled Americans working in the hospitality industry than in any other sector of the economy. But the fight to end ignorance and gear is far from over. While that fight to end ignorance and fear is far from over. While that fight continues, it is essential that protections for both employers and employees of the foodservice industry be maintained.

Opponents of the Chapman amendment raise a number of points which should be addressed. First is the question of whether or not this language is redundant within the context of the ADA bill, as there are already exclusions from coverage for individuals with contagious disease which pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others. For some diseases the Chapman language is redundant but for others, like AIDS, it is not.

The second point opponents of the amendment make is that the Chapman amendment caters to dear, and that “leadership and education” are required, not this amendment. The National Restaurant Association strongly agrees that continued leadership and education are needed, and we remain committed to that goal. But to reject an amendment which allows an afflicted individual to maintain his or her job, income, and 

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Dignity to avoid “catering to fear” is foolish. Rejecting this amendment, removing flexibility from the system, and limiting the options of employers will ultimately harm those that the amendment’s opponents are seeking to help.

The third point made by opponents of this amendment draws parallels to earlier civil rights debates. Forty years ago, the argument foes, blacks were denied jobs in sales and retail establishments because of the dear that people would not shop at these stores. This type of discrimination was not right then and it is not right now. There are three big differences today. First, the Chapman amendment is about re-assigning workers, not denying them jobs. Second, people die of AIDS, so the fear is much more real. And third, a retail establishment with black clerks could stay in business, a restaurant with a chef with AIDS cannot.

A final argument against the Chapman amendment is that we should be legislating based on reality, not perception. The fact is that in the restaurant industry perception is reality. Perception is also reality in other areas of public law. For example, airline pilots are subject to arbitrary, mandatory retirement ages. This is not because an older more experienced pilot necessarily jeopardizes air safety, but because the public, rightly or wrongly, perceives that to be the case. Laws are enacted to address this current public perception. Similarly, ethics laws for both federal workers and members of Congress are regularly approved because of the need to avoid even the suggestion of impropriety. This is another area where Congress has responded to a current, strongly-held public perception. It cannot be argued that laws are not or should not be enacted based on perception. It can, however, be argued that there are instances where public perception relating to an issue, like food safety, is so important that federal policies which are sensitive to perception are needed.

The Capman amendment is a tightly crafted legislative product which will affect relatively few workers. Its enactment will not derail the ADA bill, but it will provide foodservice employees with the flexibility they need to survive. It is a sensitive approach to a delicate issue. We strongly urge a” yes” vote on the motion to instruct.

A list of groups supporting the Chapman amendment, together representing over 650,000 small and independent businesses, is enclosed for review. I have also an article making clear the type of unfortunate incidents which could continue to happen if the Chapman amendment is not agreed to. Please vote “yes” on this crucial motion.

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GROUPS WHICH SUPPORT THE MOTION TO INSTRUCT ON THE CHAPMAN AMENDMENT

National Restaurant Association
National Federation of Independent Business
Foodservice and Lodging Institute
National Association of Convenience Stores
International Foodservice Distributors Association
National Licensed Beverage Association
American Hitel Motel Association

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Amery WI
Weekly 4.240

SEP 12 1989
BURRELLE’s

AIDS rumors hurt restaurant business
8466

MILWAUKEE (AP)- Restaurant operators and tavern owners say AIDS poses special problems for those in the foodservice industry because success relies heavily on reputation and a rumor of disease can be devastating.
	Bill Kindt, owner of the Wreck Room, a Milwaukee gay bar, said he almost lost his business ager the former owner, the manager and another employee died of AIDS in 1987.
	“People were either embarrassed or frightened,” Kindt said. “We went from being one of the most popular bars in Milwaukee to close to zero. There were times when I wasn’t sure we were going to make it, but we did.”
	Kindt’s problem is not isolated in Wisconsin. Other examples include:
	-The Inn of the Four Seasons in Eagle shut its doors abruptly last month. Owners Ray Elementary and Ed Polito said customers began staying away more than two years ago, when a false but persistent rumor spread that the owners had AIDS.
	-Employee health insurance rates tripled for a near South Side Milwaukee restaurant and bar after two of its seven employees were diagnosed with AIDS-related complex, which usually progresses into full-blown AIDS.
	- Complaints pending before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allege that three restaurants discriminated against food service workers because of AIDS. 
	-Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is a fatal disease that weakens the immune system, leaving the body defenseless against infections. Officials say the disease is spread mainly through sexual contact or through contaminated syringes. Homosexual males and intravenous drug users are most at risk of contracting the disease.
	Elementary and Polito said that Four Seasons succumbed to a particularly vicious and long-lasting rumor campaign. They closed the restaurant Aug. 13 after telling employes that profits had plunged by more than a third and business was down by half because of false rumors that they had AIDS.
	There is no evidence to show AIDS can be transmitted in the process of handling food.
	Such a case has never been found among more than 102,000 AIDS causes reported since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta began keeping records in June 1981, said Doug Nelson, director of the Milwaukee AIDS Project.
	The virus that causes AIDS cannot survive the high temperatures required to cook food and cannot survive outside the human body for longer than a few seconds, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The virus that causes AIDS is known as HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus.
	“There’s too much hysteria that surrounds AIDS,” Nelson said of the highly rated Claus on Juneau restaurant in Milwaukee, said a rumor that the had AIDS circulated last February, when he was hospitalized for open heart surgery.
	“It was just plain awful, ridiculous,” said Bienek, who said he does not have AIDS. “In the food service business, if there are just a few little rumors, things can go down the tubes.”

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