Food Service Employee Health and Illness Policy

This policy establishes the requirements for reporting illness, restricting or excluding ill employees from food handling, and documenting return-to-work clearance for in-store food service operations. The goal is to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, protect customers and coworkers, and support compliance with the FDA Food Code and applicable state and local health rules.

This policy applies to all employees, temporary workers, and managers who prepare, handle, serve, package, or transport food, or who work in areas where exposed food, clean equipment, or single-use items are present. It applies during all work hours, including opening, closing, cleaning, stocking, and delivery activities.

California employees: any state or local food safety requirements that are more protective than this policy will control. Washington employees: paid sick leave rights must be honored under state law. All jurisdictions: leave, wage, and protected activity rights under the FMLA, FLSA, ADA, EEOC rules, and the NLRA are preserved.

• Food handler: An employee who directly handles unpackaged food, food-contact surfaces, utensils, or equipment.
• Exclude / exclusion: Remove an employee from the workplace or from food handling duties because the employee may contaminate food or transmit illness.
• Restrict / restriction: Limit an employee to non-food-handling duties that do not create a contamination risk.
• Return-to-work clearance: Documentation or approval required before an excluded employee may resume food handling duties.
• Interactive process: The good-faith process used to evaluate whether a medical condition requires a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
• Essential function: A core duty of the job, such as safe food handling, that may not be removed as a reasonable accommodation if it would create an undue hardship or safety risk.

Employees must not work with food when they are ill in a way that could contaminate food or spread infection. Employees must immediately report symptoms, diagnoses, or exposures that may require exclusion or restriction. Managers must act in good faith to remove affected employees from food handling, document the decision, and provide return-to-work instructions.

No employee will be disciplined for making a good-faith illness report, requesting leave, or raising a food safety concern. Nothing in this policy limits rights protected by the NLRA (including concerted activity), the ADA (including the interactive process and reasonable accommodation), the FMLA, the FLSA, or applicable state sick leave laws.

1. Immediate reporting: Employees must notify a supervisor before the start of a shift, or as soon as symptoms develop during a shift, if they have vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, infected wounds, or any other condition that may require exclusion under the FDA Food Code.
2. Reportable diagnoses and exposures: Employees must also report any diagnosis or exposure that a manager or health authority identifies as requiring exclusion, restriction, or medical follow-up.
3. Manager assessment: The manager will assess whether the employee may continue working, must be restricted to non-food duties, or must be excluded from the workplace based on the reported condition and applicable law.
4. Work reassignment: If restriction is allowed, the manager may assign non-food-handling duties that do not involve exposed food, clean equipment, or single-use items.
5. Exclusion from food handling: Employees who are excluded may not prepare, serve, package, or handle food, and may not work in a manner that risks contamination.
6. Medical clearance / return-to-work: Before returning to food handling after exclusion, the employee must provide any clearance required by the FDA Food Code, local health authority, or treating provider documentation permitted by law.
7. Documentation: Managers must record the report, action taken, dates of exclusion or restriction, and return-to-work approval in a confidential file separate from general personnel records.
8. Escalation: If the employee refuses to comply, the manager must escalate to HR, the store manager, or the designated compliance contact immediately.

• Employees: report symptoms, diagnoses, and exposures promptly; follow exclusion or restriction instructions; cooperate with return-to-work requirements.
• Supervisors / managers: receive reports, remove employees from food handling when required, document actions, and maintain confidentiality.
• HR / compliance: support ADA interactive process requests, coordinate leave administration, and ensure wage-hour and protected-rights compliance.
• Policy holder: review and update this policy at least annually and whenever food code, leave, or employment law changes require revision.

Failure to report a reportable illness, failure to follow exclusion or restriction instructions, falsification of health information, or unauthorized return to food handling may result in corrective action up to and including termination, subject to applicable law.

Before discipline is imposed, management must consider whether the employee engaged in protected activity, requested leave, or needs a reasonable accommodation. Any discipline must be based on documented facts, applied consistently, and not interfere with rights under the ADA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA, or applicable state law.

California employees: apply any more protective state or local health, leave, or wage rules, including local health officer directives and paid sick leave requirements.

Washington employees: paid sick leave must be provided and administered under Washington law.

Illinois employees: scheduling and rest-period requirements under the One Day Rest in Seven Act must be considered when reassigning or extending shifts.

New York employees: whistleblower protections under NY Labor Law § 740 apply to good-faith reports of health and safety concerns.

All employees: if a conflict exists between this policy and applicable law, the law controls.

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and whenever the FDA Food Code, state or local health rules, or employment laws change. Revisions must be approved by the policy holder, HR, and operations leadership before publication.