Reporting Illness: Symptoms, Diagnoses and Exposure

Active Managerial Control and Employee Health Policies

As part of active managerial control, the person in charge must establish and enforce employee health procedures within the operation. A core duty of management is informing all food employees of their illness-reporting responsibilities in a verifiable manner. While obtaining a signed agreement from staff is one practical way to achieve this, the FDA Food Code does not mandate a signed form or require the policy itself to be written. Managers should note that state and local public health codes may enforce employee health rules that differ from the FDA Food Code.

Food handlers must be trained to report specific symptoms, diagnosed illnesses, and high-risk exposures immediately to a manager. To reinforce this system, train supervisors to watch for reportable illness symptoms during daily operations, encourage prompt employee reporting, and act decisively on reported or observed symptoms. Although managers must stay vigilant, the FDA Food Code does not mandate daily health screening checklists for non-specific signs like sweating or paleness.

When an employee shares health details, the manager should keep confidential records of these employee health reports, work-status decisions, medical documentation, and regulatory notifications as required by local law or establishment policy. Keep in mind that the FDA Food Code does not mandate a written record of every single illness report. Managing these records professionally protects employee privacy while demonstrating compliance during inspections.