Restaurant work can be a dangerous business. Records kept by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that more than 26,000 restaurant employees missed at least one full day of work in 2012 because of a workplace accident or illness. Cooks, servers, dishwashers and other food service employees face a busy environment filled with physical hazards. They should be aware of the dangers inherent in their profession and follow best practices for avoiding injury.
Accidents in the kitchen can hurt or kill employees
Accidents in an industrial kitchen can be life-threatening. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, restaurant employees face an elevated danger of serious injury or death, with 112 food service workers—nearly one every three days—killed on the job in 2013. All of the following risks contribute to the possibility of major accidents:
- Incorrect handling of deep-fryers, large stockpots and other containers of hot liquid
- Slip-and-fall hazards caused by poor workplace hygiene and improperly maintained floors
- Improper stacking of heavy boxes
- Insufficient training for new employees
Any one of these risk factors can lead to a serious or fatal accident in a restaurant kitchen.
Food service workers are at high risk of repetitive stress
Not all restaurant injuries are sudden and dramatic. Many injured workers are forced to take time off and undergo medical treatment because of repetitive stress trauma. Working in a restaurant often involves intense repetitive motion for long periods of time. Servers carry heavy plates to and from the kitchen all day long. Prep cooks may stand at a work station and chop, slice or stir for shifts lasting 12 hours or more. Nearly all restaurant employees find themselves moving bulky equipment or large boxes. This kind of work can lead to repetitive stress, creating new injuries and making existing disorders worse.
Best practices can help restaurant workers stay safer on the job
Although a restaurant is a fast-paced and hazardous environment, workers can take steps to remain safer on the job. OSHA guidelines for safe restaurants include careful training of new employees, ergonomic lifting techniques, strict standards of cleaning and hygiene, and a no-tolerance policy toward drug abuse in the workplace. By following these guidelines, restaurant employees have begun chipping away at the rate of on-the-job fatalities. OSHA reports that the number of restaurant deaths and injuries is slowly but steadily decreasing in recent years.
Restaurant employees are skilled, hard-working professionals who deserve full legal protection as they do their best to work safely. To discover more about how Illinois labor law affects cooks and servers, talk with a workers’ compensation attorney today.
