NRA: tightened ADA rules likely will omit kitchens

Nation's Restaurant News, May 20, 2002

WASHINGTON - Kitchens are expected to be excluded from the more stringent access requirements that will be mandated by revised Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, officials of the National Restaurant Association indicated.

"It looks like we're in a position for a win on this," said Steven Grover, NRA vice president for health and safety regulatory affairs. "It looks as if we are going to keep kitchens out of the accessibility requirements." NRA contacts in the Justice Department "indicated to me we would be happy with the final outcome," he added.

Regulators who are finalizing the revised ADA guidelines said they might be released by this summer, Grover indicated.

The NRA has opposed suggested ADA revisions that would require restaurants to build kitchens that provide wheelchair access to workstations, arguing that provisions for handicapped employees should be handled on a case-by-case basis. The NRA believes such proposals contradict the intent and provisions of the original ADA and its focus on "public accommodations" as opposed to work spaces, Grover said. times a week dropped to 21 percent, from 39 percent last year, according to the study.