Employee Illness Policy for Restaurants: What the 2026 Food Code Requires
Quick answer: the 2026 FDA Food Code requires every restaurant's permit holder to keep a written employee illness policy and show it on request (§2-501.11). It has to cover food employees, conditional employees (people offered a job), and the person in charge, and spell out three things: the symptoms and diagnoses employees must report, when an employee is excluded from work or restricted from food tasks, and when they can come back, plus what the person in charge reports to the health department. The reporting and exclusion rules aren't new. Writing them down is.
This page walks through what the policy has to say, based on the Food Code's own rules (§2-201.11 to §2-201.13), with a short sample policy statement you can start from. It doesn't apply until your state or local health department adopts the 2026 code, but the rules behind it are already in the 2022 and 2017 editions most health departments enforce.
Does My Restaurant Need a Written Illness Policy?
Under the 2026 Food Code, yes. §2-501.11 says the permit holder shall provide a written employee illness policy, available upon request. Inspectors check it under item 5 of FDA's model inspection report, renamed "Illness Documentation" in 2026. That item is marked in compliance when the kitchen has a written policy covering illness reporting, exclusion and restriction, return to work, and health department reporting, along with written clean-up procedures for vomiting and diarrhea.
If your health department still enforces the 2022 or 2017 Food Code, the written policy isn't required yet, but the rules it describes are: the person in charge already has to know the reportable illnesses and exclude or restrict employees who report them. A written policy is the easiest way to show an inspector you do. Not sure which edition applies to you? See which Food Code your state uses.
Who the Policy Covers
- Food employees: anyone who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces, including owners and managers who do that work (§1-201.10).
- Conditional employees: people who have been offered a job, conditional on answers to medical questions asked after the offer (§1-201.10). They report the same symptoms and diagnoses, and can't start until they meet the return-to-work conditions (§2-201.11(C)).
- The person in charge: the manager on duty, who receives reports, decides on exclusion or restriction, and calls the health department when required.
What Employees Must Report
Food employees and conditional employees must tell the person in charge about any of the following, whether it happens at work or at home (§2-201.11(A)):
- Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice (yellow skin or eyes), sore throat with fever, and an infected wound or boil that is open or draining. A wound that's properly covered doesn't have to be reported: an impermeable cover with a single-use glove over it on the hand or wrist, an impermeable cover on the arm, or a dry, durable, tight-fitting bandage anywhere else.
- Diagnoses by a doctor or other health practitioner, even without symptoms: norovirus, hepatitis A, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), typhoid fever, and nontyphoidal Salmonella.
- Typhoid fever in the past three months without antibiotic treatment.
- Exposures to norovirus, Shigella, STEC, typhoid fever, or hepatitis A: eating food linked to a confirmed outbreak, working in or attending a place with a confirmed outbreak, or living with someone who has one of these illnesses or is connected to an outbreak. They report it if the last exposure was within 48 hours for norovirus, 3 days for Shigella or STEC, 14 days for typhoid fever, or 30 days for hepatitis A. Nontyphoidal Salmonella isn't on the exposure list.
Employees have to be told about this duty in a way you can prove (§2-103.11(P)). FDA's Form 1-B, the Conditional Employee or Food Employee Reporting Agreement, is the usual way: Annex 3 of the Food Code recommends each employee sign one at hire and once a year.
When to Exclude or Restrict
Exclude means the employee can't work in the restaurant at all. Restrict means they can work, but not with exposed food, clean equipment and utensils, linens, or unwrapped single-use items; running the register, seating guests, or bussing tables are typical restricted duties. The rules are stricter where food is served to a highly susceptible population, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and child care centers.
| The employee has | Most restaurants | Serving a highly susceptible population |
|---|---|---|
| Vomiting or diarrhea | Exclude | Exclude |
| Jaundice that started within the last 7 days | Exclude, and notify the health department | Exclude, and notify the health department |
| Sore throat with fever | Restrict | Exclude |
| Infected wound or boil, open or draining, not properly covered | Restrict | Restrict |
| Diagnosis of norovirus, Shigella, STEC, or nontyphoidal Salmonella, with vomiting or diarrhea | Exclude | Exclude |
| Diagnosis of norovirus, Shigella, or STEC without symptoms | Restrict | Exclude |
| Diagnosis of nontyphoidal Salmonella without symptoms | Restrict | Restrict |
| Diagnosis of hepatitis A or typhoid fever | Exclude | Exclude |
| A reportable exposure, no symptoms | No exclusion; review the symptoms to report and handwashing | Restrict |
Vomiting or diarrhea from a noninfectious condition, such as Crohn's disease or early pregnancy, doesn't require exclusion if the employee has written documentation from a health practitioner. Any ready-to-eat food an excluded or restricted employee may have contaminated has to be thrown out (§3-701.11(C)).
Returning to Work
| Reason | Can return when | Health department approval? |
|---|---|---|
| Vomiting or diarrhea, no diagnosis | Symptom-free for at least 24 hours, or a health practitioner documents a noninfectious cause | No |
| Norovirus | More than 48 hours after symptoms stop, or medical clearance. In most restaurants, the employee can work restricted after 24 hours without symptoms. | Yes |
| Shigella or STEC | More than 7 days after symptoms stop, or medical clearance based on 2 negative lab tests. Restricted work after 24 hours without symptoms, as with norovirus. | Yes |
| Nontyphoidal Salmonella | More than 30 days after symptoms stop (restricted until then), or medical clearance based on 2 negative lab tests | Yes |
| Hepatitis A or jaundice | Jaundiced for more than 7 days, other symptoms for more than 14 days without jaundice, or medical clearance | Yes |
| Typhoid fever | Medical clearance that the employee is free of typhoid fever | Yes |
| Sore throat with fever | Medical documentation of more than 24 hours of antibiotics, a negative strep culture, or other clearance | No |
| Infected wound or boil | It's properly covered | No |
New in 2026: medical clearance for Shigella, STEC, and nontyphoidal Salmonella can be based on two negative results from a validated laboratory test, taken at least 24 hours apart and at least 48 hours after antibiotics stop. Earlier editions required stool cultures.
Reporting to the Health Department
The person in charge must notify the health department when a food employee is jaundiced or is diagnosed with norovirus, hepatitis A, Shigella, STEC, typhoid fever, or nontyphoidal Salmonella (§2-201.11(B)). Your written policy should name the health department and its phone number, and say who makes the call. Health department approval is also needed before an employee with one of those diagnoses goes back to full duties.
Sample Policy Statement
Your policy can open with a short statement like this one, followed by the reporting list, the exclusion and return-to-work rules above, and your health department's contact details:
[Restaurant name] does not allow anyone to work with food while they may spread an illness through food. Every food employee and conditional employee must report the symptoms, diagnoses, and exposures listed in this policy to the person in charge before starting work. The person in charge will exclude or restrict employees as the FDA Food Code requires, notify [health department name] when required, and allow employees to return to work only when the return-to-work conditions in this policy are met. This policy is kept at [location] and is available to employees and to the health department on request.
FDA publishes free forms that do much of the rest: Form 1-A (an interview for conditional employees), Form 1-B (the reporting agreement employees sign), and Form 1-C (a referral form for a health practitioner's clearance). They're in Annex 7 of the Food Code and in FDA's Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Handbook, linked in the sources below.
Keep Health Information Confidential
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies too. As the Food Code's Annex 3 explains, you can't ask job applicants about their health until you've made a conditional job offer, which is why the code calls new hires "conditional employees." The ADA also generally requires employee medical information to be kept confidential and separate from regular personnel files. Keep illness reports and doctors' notes in a separate locked file, share them only with the people who need them (the person in charge, the owner, and the health department), and don't tell coworkers why someone is out. For ADA questions, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission publishes guidance for restaurant employers.
Put It in Writing This Week
- Write the policy using the sections above, with your health department's name and phone number.
- Have every employee sign FDA's Form 1-B reporting agreement, and keep the signed copies with your illness log.
- Post a reminder of the symptoms to report where staff clock in.
- Write your vomit and diarrhea clean-up procedure, the other half of the "Illness Documentation" inspection item.
- Check the rest of the 2026 changes in our plain-English summary.
Want it done for you? Our Food Safety Plan Kit has an editable employee illness policy with the exclusion and return-to-work tables, an employee reporting agreement, an illness report form, and FDA's Forms 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C, along with the clean-up procedure and the rest of the written procedures the 2026 Food Code asks for.
Done-for-you templates
Food Safety Plan Kit
- Written food safety procedures for every risk factor, ready to customize
- Employee illness policy and clean-up procedure for the 2026 Food Code
- Training records, a self-inspection checklist, and 8 editable logs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a written employee illness policy required?
Under the 2026 FDA Food Code, yes: the permit holder must provide one and make it available on request (§2-501.11). It becomes the rule in your kitchen when your state or local health department adopts the 2026 edition. Earlier editions require the same reporting and exclusion rules without requiring them in writing.
What symptoms must food employees report?
Vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, and an infected wound or boil that is open or draining and not properly covered. They must also report a diagnosis of norovirus, hepatitis A, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, typhoid fever, or nontyphoidal Salmonella.
How long does an employee with vomiting or diarrhea stay home?
Until they have been symptom-free for at least 24 hours, if there's no diagnosis. A diagnosis of norovirus or another listed illness brings longer rules: for norovirus, full duties return more than 48 hours after symptoms stop, with health department approval.
What is the difference between exclude and restrict?
An excluded employee can't work in the food establishment at all. A restricted employee can work, but not with exposed food, clean equipment and utensils, linens, or unwrapped single-use items.
When does a restaurant have to call the health department?
When a food employee is jaundiced or is diagnosed with norovirus, hepatitis A, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, typhoid fever, or nontyphoidal Salmonella (§2-201.11(B)).
Bottom Line
An employee illness policy is mostly rules your kitchen already has to follow, written down: what to report, who stays home, and when they come back. Write it once, have everyone sign the reporting agreement, and keep it where the person in charge can find it during an inspection.
Sources
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