Like so many who fight for the rights of those with food allergies and food-related disease, Mary C. Vargas found her calling when her youngest son was diagnosed with food allergies and celiac disease. Unlike most of us, Mary also is a founding partner with Stein & Vargas LLP, a civil rights law firm committed to the principle that all people have full and equal access to all parts of American society.
October is Disability Employment Awareness Month – a time where we recognize the contributions of people with disabilities in our workforce. It’s also the opportune time to educate ourselves on how to be more accommodating for our colleagues and coworkers who may have a disability. It’s been 10 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was amended in 2008, but educating employers and employees alike about the changes has proven to be a long and difficult process. Whether a CEO, an HR professional, an event professional or a manager, you should know that individuals with food allergies, celiac disease…
How does the ADA and Food & Beverage Intersect? In the August 2018 issue of The Meeting Professional, Tracy discusses ADA and food. Since the Americans with Disabilities Act was amended in 2008, individuals with food allergies, celiac disease and other medical conditions that require them to eat a specific way, are now provided civil rights protections under the disabilities law. The Amendment added such words as eating, breathing, cardiovascular system, immune system to the list of major life activities that, if affected in any way, requires a person to alter “normal” activities — like eating peanuts, gluten or grapefruit…
My good friend Dr. Tyra Hilliard, PhD, JD, CMP, is a meetings industry attorney, college professor, speaker and writer. In her latest article for Plan Your Meetings, “Food Allergies and the ADA,” she explains how and why the Americans with Disabilities Act was amended in 2008 to be more inclusive and broader in scope than the original and now incorporates eating and breathing as major life activities. She and I will be talking about this together next week at IMEX America on Tuesday, October 15 at 3:00 p.m. in our session “Food, Risk & Liability: More Than Menu Planning.”
From employee picnics and business lunches to association conferences and corporate conventions, food-allergic employees and event participants have a lot to navigate when at work or business and social functions . As professional meeting professionals, we have a duty of care at all times. People must be able to trust us with their health and safety while they are at the meetings and events we plan. To justify that trust, we must make the care of our event participants, supplier partners, exhibitors, speakers, sponsors and staff our first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity and their needs. That includes ensuring…
