Are the Restaurants you frequent safe?
According to Restaurant Expert Witness Howard Cannon, the Restaurant Industry is America’s most important industry. Think about it; many of our most important happenings occur in restaurants. When you take that and add it to the fact that there are more than 14 million restaurant employees and the effect that restaurants have on local economies, there is no denying that “significant” is an understatement when it comes to describing restaurants.
The problem is that millions of injuries are also occurring in these restaurants. Almost 11,000 slips, trips, and falls happen in American’s restaurants per day; that’s over four million per year. Eight people die from food-borne illness every day in America and 68% of those cases come from eating in restaurants; that’s 3,000 deaths from food-borne illness per year. 33% of all EEOC sexual harassment claims come from the restaurant industry. 42 states have dram shop/alcohol server liability laws placing the onus and responsibility on bartenders, servers, managers, and owners to recognize visible intoxication and 20% of binge drinkers drive drunk after leaving restaurants and bars. These numbers go on and on and on. When does it end?
Restaurant Expert Witness Howard Cannon’s hope in writing Restaurant OSHA Safety and Security is that restaurants will not only become aware of their legal, ethical, and moral obligations to provide a safe, healthy, and secure workplace but that they will see the many benefits of going above and beyond the minimum requirements. Everyone wants to make money, but cutting corners with safety is not the way to do that. In fact, this is the death of many restaurants and unfortunately, the death of many people. It only takes one incident occurring in your restaurant to drain your life savings and kill your business and possibly the people in it.
People spend a good portion of their lives in restaurants: celebrations, engagements, birthday parties, and reunions. Restaurants are the original social media. We need safe restaurants.
To find out more about Howard Cannon’s book, Restaurant OSHA Safety and Security, or to purchase a copy, CLICK HERE. To find out more about Restaurant Expert Witness and Mr. Cannon’s services, CLICK HERE.