Food Service Employee Health and Illness Policy

This policy establishes the requirements for reporting illness, excluding or restricting employees from food handling when necessary, and documenting return-to-work clearance for in-store food service operations. The policy is intended to protect customers, coworkers, and the public from foodborne illness while supporting lawful leave, accommodation, and wage-and-hour compliance.

This policy applies to all policy holders, employees, temporary workers, and managers who prepare, serve, package, transport, or otherwise handle food, food contact surfaces, utensils, or equipment in company-operated stores and food service areas. It applies during scheduled shifts, training, catering, sampling, and any other work activity involving food handling.

Reportable symptoms and conditions: Employees must report any vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, fever with sore throat, or other symptoms identified in the FDA Food Code or by local public health authorities. Employees must also report diagnoses or exposure notices involving norovirus, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella, shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Hepatitis A, or any other condition requiring exclusion or restriction under applicable law.

Food handling duties: Duties that involve direct contact with unpackaged food, clean equipment, utensils, single-use articles, or food contact surfaces.

Return-to-work clearance: Written or verbal authorization from the designated manager, HR, occupational health provider, or public health authority confirming the employee may resume work, subject to applicable law and any restrictions.

Employees must report symptoms, diagnoses, and exposure risks promptly and in good faith. Any employee who is ill, who has been directed by a healthcare provider or public health authority to stay home, or who exhibits symptoms that may contaminate food must be excluded from food handling and may be removed from the workplace as required by law or company direction. The company will evaluate whether restricted duty, leave, paid sick leave, or a reasonable accommodation is available, consistent with the ADA interactive process, FMLA, EEOC guidance, and state/local leave laws.

Employees may not return to food handling until they meet the applicable symptom-free period, receive required medical or public health clearance, and are approved by management or HR. The company will not retaliate against employees for making good-faith illness reports, requesting leave, or engaging in protected concerted activity under NLRA Section 7.

1. Immediate reporting: Employees must notify their supervisor or manager as soon as possible, and before the start of the shift when feasible, if they have reportable symptoms, a contagious diagnosis, or a known exposure that could affect food safety.
2. Manager assessment: The manager will document the report, remove the employee from food handling if required, and determine whether the employee is excluded, restricted, sent home, or assigned non-food duties.
3. Leave and pay review: HR or the manager will review available paid sick leave, state-mandated leave, FMLA eligibility, and wage-and-hour obligations under the FLSA and applicable state law. Non-exempt employees must be paid for all hours worked, including any time spent reporting, waiting for instructions, or completing required health-related screening during compensable time.
4. Accommodation review: If the employee has a medical condition that may qualify as a disability, the company will engage in the ADA interactive process to determine whether a reasonable accommodation or temporary restriction is available without eliminating an essential function or creating undue hardship.
5. Return-to-work clearance: Before returning to food handling, the employee must satisfy all applicable exclusion periods, symptom-free requirements, and documentation requirements. The company may require clearance from a healthcare provider or public health authority only to the extent permitted by law and applied consistently.
6. Documentation: Managers must record the date of report, symptoms or condition reported, action taken, leave or restriction status, and clearance received, while limiting access to health information to those with a legitimate business need.

Employees: Report symptoms, diagnoses, and exposures promptly; comply with exclusion or restriction instructions; provide requested documentation when lawful; and avoid returning to food handling before clearance.

Managers / Shift Supervisors: Receive reports, remove affected employees from food handling, notify HR when needed, maintain confidentiality, and ensure the employee is not assigned to food-contact tasks while excluded or restricted.

HR / Policy Holder: Coordinate leave, accommodation, and return-to-work decisions; apply FMLA, ADA, EEOC, and state-law requirements; and maintain records in accordance with privacy and retention rules.

Food Safety / Operations Leadership: Train staff on symptom reporting, exclusion criteria, and hygiene expectations; verify that procedures align with FDA Food Code updates and local health department rules.

Failure to report symptoms, falsifying health information, returning to food handling without clearance, or refusing a lawful exclusion or restriction may result in corrective action up to and including termination, subject to applicable law. Discipline will be applied consistently and in good faith, and will not be used to interfere with protected leave, protected medical inquiries, or NLRA-protected concerted activity. California employees: any medical inquiry, leave coordination, or accommodation process must be handled consistently with applicable California law, including paid sick leave requirements and any local ordinances. Washington employees: paid sick leave requirements apply where mandated by state law. Illinois employees: scheduling and rest-break obligations must comply with applicable state law, including the One Day Rest in Seven Act where applicable.

Exceptions may be approved only by HR or the policy holder when required by law or when a reasonable accommodation is available under the ADA. No exception may permit an employee with a reportable illness to perform food handling duties if doing so would violate public health requirements or create an unacceptable food safety risk. Any exception must be documented, time-limited, and reviewed for continued necessity.

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and whenever the FDA Food Code, federal employment law, state sick leave rules, or local health department guidance changes in a way that affects employee health reporting, exclusion, restriction, or return-to-work procedures. Revisions must be approved by the policy holder, HR, and operations leadership.