ALL SEEN the notices posted on the walls of restaurant bathrooms warning restaurant employees that they are required by law to wash their hands after using the bathroom. It is a difficult law to enforce. The restaurant manager cannot follow his employees around and make sure that they are properly washing their hands each time they go into the bathroom. In effect, restaurant employee hand-washing is pretty much on the honor system. That may change with the advent of a new infrared detection system that will take note of whether an employee washes his or her hands before leaving the restroom.
Employees wear a badge that triggers an infrared sensor when they enter the bathroom.
A second sensor at the soap dispenser monitors whether they spend at least 15 seconds in front of the sink and whether they use soap. It is not foolproof, but it seems likely to encourage compliance with the law. The new detection system is being tested at a hotel dining room and at an Army medical center. And restaurant employee unions are already protesting the ''Big Brother'' monitoring of employees. The system is sure to be ripe fodder for jokes by comedians.