FOOD ALLERGIES CAN BE A DISABILITY, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS

http://gimby.org/blogs/gimby-news-focus/20130122/food-allergies-can-be-disability-justice-department-says

Schools and businesses subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) could be more vulnerable to lawsuits over food allergies, after the Justice Department reached an agreement last month with Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts over the accessibility of the school's meal plan.

“Food allergies may constitute a disability under the ADA,” the Justice Department writes in its announcement of the settlement.

The agreement, which requires the institution to make more gluten-free foods available to students with celiac disease, effectively ends a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department after at least one student with serious food allergies complained of not being allowed to opt out of the mandatory meal plan.

The settlement appears to open the door to sufferers of other severe food allergies, as Inside Higher Ed reports.

Maria Acebal of the advocacy organization Food Allergy Research & Education applauded the decision. "By not accommodating food allergies, you're barring students from participating in the university," she told NPR. "If you can't get safe food, how can you study there?"

But at least one supporter of small government says the Justice Department is going too far. "I certainly encourage colleges and universities to work with students on this issue, but the fact that this is a federal case and the Justice Department is going to be deciding what kind of meals could be served in a dining hall is just absurd," Hans von Spakovsky, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told The Associated Press.

ที่มา: gimby.org
วันที่โพสต์: 13/02/2556 เวลา 03:31:57