November 17, 2022

National Restaurant Association Event Code of Conduct

Purpose
The National Restaurant Association (“Association”), the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (“Foundation”) and their related organizations are committed to conducting their conferences and events with the highest levels of professionalism and ethical conduct where attendees can exchange information, gain knowledge, network with other industry professionals, and support the industry and the Foundation’s charitable mission. 

To facilitate this, the Association and the Foundation strive to provide a hospitable, safe and educational environment during all of their conferences, meetings, and events. The Association and the Foundation expect all of their exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, staff, and other event attendees to assist in creating a positive experience for all event participants.

Conduct
This Code of Conduct outlines the Association’s and Foundation’s expectations for attendee and participant behavior, as well as the consequences for conduct considered unacceptable. By registering for events hosted by the Association and/or the Foundation, you agree to comply with this Code of Conduct.

All event attendees are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and be respectful of other attendees, and conduct themselves in a collaborative and polite manner.
 
Prohibited Behavior
Unacceptable behavior includes any rude, intimidating, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, demeaning, or harassing conduct.  Though any of such conduct may lead to disciplinary action, harassing or discriminatory behavior in particular are strictly forbidden and will not be tolerated.  Harassment includes all forms of offensive or unwanted physical or verbal attention or conduct related to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, religion, national origin or any other protected characteristic. Examples of harassment include, but are not limited to: derogatory jokes, slurs, insults or name-calling; the use of sexual images in public spaces; deliberate intimidation, stalking or following; harassing photography or recordings; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact; unwelcome sexual attention, touching, flirtation, or other threatening conduct. Discriminatory conduct includes treating an individual differently because of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, religion, national origin or any other protected characteristic.

Reporting and Enforcement of Unacceptable 
Unacceptable behavior or conduct violating this Code should be promptly brought to the attention of on site, executive event staff or security.  Violations of law, including threats to physical safety, should immediately be reported to on-site security or local law enforcement. 

By registering for an event, each attendee agrees that the Association and Foundation shall have the sole discretion to interpret or assess any behavior or conduct of an attendee either reported or witnessed at an event, and to take any and all necessary actions to deal with actions that may violate this Code, including but not limited to cancelling or terminating an attendees right to attend or participate in any current or future Association or Foundation event(s)

If an attendee engages in harassing or discriminatory behavior (including engaging in conduct that interferes with the ability of other attendees and/or exhibitors to participate in and enjoy the event), the Association and/or the Foundation may take appropriate steps to remedy the situation. Sanctions may range from verbal warning to ejection from the event without refund, to notifying appropriate authorities. Retaliation for complaints of inappropriate conduct will not be tolerated. The Association and the Foundation require anyone asked to stop unacceptable conduct to comply with the request immediately. 

The Association and the Foundation take this Code seriously and expect all event attendees to respect one another at all times and to report any violations they experience. If you experience or witness any unacceptable behavior at an event, please immediately bring it to the attention of an on-site, executive staff member. You may also submit an incident report to: legal@restaurant.orgYou may request that your report remain confidential and the Association will attempt to honor such request (to the extent such report does not allege any violation of law or other required action).

The National Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation reserve the right to interpret the foregoing Code of Conduct and to amend or modify it as they deem necessary.