Arlington, Va. – Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released a new report revealing the poor quality of the Just.Safe.Food food handler training presented by advocacy group One Fair Wage. The report’s findings are based on an expert analysis by Beth Torin, former Executive Director of the New York City Department of Health Office of Food Safety under Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Ms. Torin determined that a draft version of the One Fair Wage-constructed training program has “significant deficiencies” that would not adequately train restaurant employees in the proper industry standard for the safe handling of food.

To learn more, view the full report published by EPI here.

Ms. Torin’s review of eight draft video trainings obtained by EPI found:

• Misleading or inadequate training visuals;

• Inaccurate terminology related to industry standards;

• Missing or inaccurate training content, including topics such as hazards causing foodborne illness, handwashing, and proper glove usage.

Confronted with these findings, a spokesperson for One Fair Wage defensively suggested that the reviewed version of the training was “probably a first draft to see if there was even any demand for a product like this.” Yet this talking point is refuted by One Fair Wage’s own press rollout, where it suggested that the food training was a professional product “designed to compete with…ServSafe.”

EPI’s research director Rebekah Paxton issued the following statement about the report:

“One Fair Wage has a history of putting its own agenda over the wellbeing of restaurant employees. Its sister organization ROC has a controversial track record of mistreating its own employees and health code violations in the organization’s restaurant. The missing, confusing, or inaccurate content found in this version of One Fair Wage’s food handler training casts doubt that the group can adequately equip employees in food safety.”

BACKGROUND

• In January 2023, the New York Times smeared the ServSafe training program offered by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and accused the NRA of using proceeds to fund political activities.

• Just a day after the New York Times story broke, union-funded activist group One Fair Wage (OFW), which advocates for eliminating the tip credit across the country, announced it would develop its own food handler training program.

• OFW’s anti-tip credit proposals are often opposed by tipped workers based on evidence demonstrating that tip credit elimination hurts the industry and its employees. 

• Few states have specific mandates requiring food handler safety training, and there are several nationally accredited training options available to employers and employees to fulfill any legal requirements.

• In September 2023, California enacted a bill requiring employers to compensate food service employees for any costs of food safety training required by law.

• In a recent website update, OFW’s Just.Safe.Food platform now indicates it is geared toward employees in California.

• Saru Jayaraman, and her affiliated organizations OFW and the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), have a dark history with health code mandates and restaurant management:

• Former employees sued ROC and Ms. Jayaraman in 2007 for being forced to work without pay under the promise of partial ownership of ROC’s Colors restaurant in NYC.

• ROC’s restaurant Colors received 38 NYC Department of Health Violations in 2011, and employees sued the restaurant for wage theft, reporting late paychecks and wage fluctuations.

• Former employees sued ROC for sex, age, and race discrimination; wrongful termination; and retaliation for criticizing the organization in 2021.