Articles
August 06, 2026
When should your employee call in sick?
Six best practices for operators to follow to help illnesses from spreading at restaurants
Ensuring that employees stay home from work when they're sick is an important way to help prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses.
Ensuring that employees stay home from work when they're sick is an important way to help prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses to guests and other workers.
As U.S. health officials continue investigating the Cyclospora outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that reportedly has sickened more than 6,700 people, restaurants are even more vigilant about reinforcing food safety best practices to help protect customers and employees from the parasitic intestinal illness.
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, symptoms associated with Cyclospora, which usually begin about a week—but could take up to 14 days (or more)—after ingesting contaminated food or water, could include diarrhea, substantial weight loss, fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, and low-grade fever.
In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Aug. 4 it was investigating a salmonella outbreak affecting 27 states that’s been tied to jalapeños as the suspected source. To date, 345 cases have been reported. Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Symptoms usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria.
To help operators control the potential spread of foodborne illnesses at their restaurants, the FDA’s Employee Health Policy Tool features best practices to follow, including when sick employees should stay home, be restricted from certain duties, and return to work. The guide is based on the restriction and exclusion requirements identified in 2-201 of the 2022 FDA Food Code.
According to the FDA, these are six best practices that operators can follow when dealing with sick employees:
1. Advise your employees to call in sick, or leave work immediately, if they are experiencing:
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
• A sore throat with a fever
• An infected wound or boil with pus, especially on the hands, wrists or exposed arms if it cannot be properly protected
2. Employees exhibiting symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea should immediately be excused from work as both can rapidly spread foodborne pathogens. Employees should not return to work until symptom-free for at least 24 hours or have received medical clearance, if allowed by local regulations.
3. Tell employees reporting a diagnosis of foodborne illness, including Hepatitis A, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or nontyphoidal Salmonella, that they must not come to work. In some cases, they will need to get approval from regulatory authorities before being able to return.
4. If a worker may be suffering from jaundice, insist they must immediately report their symptoms to management and undergo medical evaluation. Instruct the employee that he or she should not return to work until cleared by a health care provider. If the jaundice lasts more than seven days, clearance from a physician and local health authority might also be required.
5. Authorize employees to report their symptoms to management immediately when they have sore throats and fever. In restaurants serving highly susceptible populations—like the very young, old, or infirm—workers should not come to work. At other operations, they may be restricted from handling food until medically cleared, or the symptoms are resolved.
6. Do not allow employees with infected wounds or boils to handle exposed food, unless they are properly covered with an impermeable cover or waterproof bandage, and, when required, a single-use glove.
To help maintain the public’s health, ensure your employees follow policy procedures when they’re ill. Be sure to establish your own written health policy, in accordance with the latest food code, and make sure your staff is aware of and knows how to access it for guidance.
Learn more about the ServSafe certification and training program here
This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, business, medical or risk management advice to any party.
As U.S. health officials continue investigating the Cyclospora outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that reportedly has sickened more than 6,700 people, restaurants are even more vigilant about reinforcing food safety best practices to help protect customers and employees from the parasitic intestinal illness.
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, symptoms associated with Cyclospora, which usually begin about a week—but could take up to 14 days (or more)—after ingesting contaminated food or water, could include diarrhea, substantial weight loss, fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, and low-grade fever.
In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Aug. 4 it was investigating a salmonella outbreak affecting 27 states that’s been tied to jalapeños as the suspected source. To date, 345 cases have been reported. Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Symptoms usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria.
To help operators control the potential spread of foodborne illnesses at their restaurants, the FDA’s Employee Health Policy Tool features best practices to follow, including when sick employees should stay home, be restricted from certain duties, and return to work. The guide is based on the restriction and exclusion requirements identified in 2-201 of the 2022 FDA Food Code.
According to the FDA, these are six best practices that operators can follow when dealing with sick employees:
1. Advise your employees to call in sick, or leave work immediately, if they are experiencing:
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
• A sore throat with a fever
• An infected wound or boil with pus, especially on the hands, wrists or exposed arms if it cannot be properly protected
2. Employees exhibiting symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea should immediately be excused from work as both can rapidly spread foodborne pathogens. Employees should not return to work until symptom-free for at least 24 hours or have received medical clearance, if allowed by local regulations.
3. Tell employees reporting a diagnosis of foodborne illness, including Hepatitis A, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or nontyphoidal Salmonella, that they must not come to work. In some cases, they will need to get approval from regulatory authorities before being able to return.
4. If a worker may be suffering from jaundice, insist they must immediately report their symptoms to management and undergo medical evaluation. Instruct the employee that he or she should not return to work until cleared by a health care provider. If the jaundice lasts more than seven days, clearance from a physician and local health authority might also be required.
5. Authorize employees to report their symptoms to management immediately when they have sore throats and fever. In restaurants serving highly susceptible populations—like the very young, old, or infirm—workers should not come to work. At other operations, they may be restricted from handling food until medically cleared, or the symptoms are resolved.
6. Do not allow employees with infected wounds or boils to handle exposed food, unless they are properly covered with an impermeable cover or waterproof bandage, and, when required, a single-use glove.
To help maintain the public’s health, ensure your employees follow policy procedures when they’re ill. Be sure to establish your own written health policy, in accordance with the latest food code, and make sure your staff is aware of and knows how to access it for guidance.
Learn more about the ServSafe certification and training program here
This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, business, medical or risk management advice to any party.
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