If you work with food, the short answer is this: you must tell your manager when you have vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), a sore throat with fever, a infected cut or wound on your hands or arms, or when you have been diagnosed with an illness caused by certain foodborne germs — most notably Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, or hepatitis A. You also must report if you live with someone who has one of these illnesses or have been exposed to a diagnosed case. These rules come from the FDA Food Code, which most state and local health departments adopt in some form.
The reporting duty is not about punishment. It is about breaking the chain of transmission before a single customer gets sick. A food worker who keeps quiet about diarrhea can contaminate food without ever touching it directly.
Which Illness Must Food Handlers Report To A Manager?
The FDA Food Code lists specific conditions that a food employee must report to the person in charge. These are called “reportable symptoms and diagnoses.” They fall into two groups.
Reportable symptoms — things you feel or see, even without a diagnosis:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Jaundice (yellow skin or eyes)
- Sore throat with fever
- A cut, wound, or sore on the hands or arms that is infected (red, swollen, draining pus)
Reportable diagnoses — confirmed by a doctor or lab:
- Norovirus
- Hepatitis A
- Shigella
- Nontyphoidal Salmonella
- Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (often called STEC or E. coli O157:H7)
- Typhoid fever (Salmonella Typhi)
There is also a “reportable exposure” category. If you live in the same household as someone diagnosed with one of these illnesses, or you have been exposed to a confirmed case, you must tell your manager. This applies even if you feel fine.
The Code uses the term “person in charge” rather than “manager.” In practice, that is whoever is running the shift and has the authority to reassign or exclude you from food duties.
Why Does a Sore Throat With Fever Matter for Food Safety?
Most people understand why vomiting and diarrhea are a problem. A sore throat with fever seems less obvious. The reason it is on the list is Streptococcus pyogenes, the bacterium that causes strep throat.
This organism can be carried on the skin and in respiratory secretions. A food worker with an untreated strep infection can shed bacteria onto hands, utensils, and food. While strep throat is not a classic foodborne illness in the way Salmonella is, the Food Code includes it because infected food workers have been linked to outbreaks. The fever is the signal that separates a mild cold from something that needs reporting.
This does not mean every scratchy throat requires a call to your boss. It means a sore throat accompanied by fever does.
What Happens After You Report an Illness to Your Manager?
The manager has specific responsibilities under the Food Code. They cannot simply tell you to wash your hands and get back to work.
For symptoms like vomiting or diarrhea, the standard response is exclusion — you are restricted from working with food, utensils, and clean equipment until symptoms have resolved. For diagnosed infections like Salmonella or E. coli, the exclusion period is longer. It typically requires clearance from a health care provider or the local health department before you can return to full food duties.
For less severe situations — an infected cut that is properly bandaged and covered, for example — the manager may use restriction instead. That means you can stay at work but are moved away from food contact. You might handle stocking, cleaning, or other tasks that do not involve touching food or food-contact surfaces.
Some managers are required to notify the local regulatory authority when a food worker has a diagnosed infection from the reportable list. That is a legal obligation, not a choice.
A non-obvious point: the manager’s job is not to diagnose you. Their job is to act on what you report. You do not need a doctor’s note to say you have diarrhea. You need to say it and let the manager follow protocol.
What Is the Difference Between Exclusion and Restriction?
These two terms appear throughout food safety training, and they are not interchangeable.
| Measure | What It Means | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusion | You cannot work in the food establishment at all | Vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, diagnosed Salmonella/Shigella/E. coli, hepatitis A |
| Restriction | You can work but cannot handle food, utensils, or food-contact surfaces | Infected wound that is covered, some respiratory illness with fever |
The distinction matters because restriction still allows you to earn a paycheck while protecting customers. Exclusion is more serious and usually means staying home.
Why Do Food Workers Hide Illness — and Why Is That Dangerous?
The most common reason food workers do not report illness is fear. Fear of losing hours. Fear of being fired. Fear of letting the team down during a busy shift.
These fears are understandable. They are also the reason outbreaks happen. Research on food worker behavior consistently identifies pressure to work while sick as a major contributor to foodborne illness outbreaks. A worker with norovirus can shed billions of virus particles, and as few as 10 to 100 particles can infect another person. That is an extraordinarily small infectious dose.
Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. It spreads through the fecal-oral route — meaning microscopic amounts of feces from an infected person reach another person’s mouth, often via food handled by unwashed hands. A worker who vomits at home, feels better the next day, and comes back to work can still be shedding virus. Symptoms usually resolve before the person stops being contagious.
Hepatitis A is another example. An infected food worker can transmit the virus for up to two weeks before symptoms appear. By the time jaundice shows up, the damage may already be done to customers.
This is why the reporting rule exists. It is not about whether you feel well enough to work. It is about whether you are still contagious.
What Should You Do If You Are Unsure Whether to Report?
Report anyway. The Food Code is designed so that the manager, not the employee, makes the call about exclusion or restriction. Your job is to give them the information.
If you are unsure whether your symptom counts, ask yourself these questions:
- Have I had vomiting or diarrhea in the last 24 hours?
- Do I have a sore throat with a fever?
- Are my eyes or skin turning yellow?
- Do I have a cut on my hand that is red, swollen, or draining?
- Has a doctor told me I have Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, hepatitis A, or norovirus?
- Does someone in my household have one of these illnesses?
If you answer yes to any of these, tell your manager before your shift starts if possible. If symptoms begin during a shift, tell them immediately and stop handling food.
Some states and local health departments have additional reporting requirements beyond the FDA Food Code. Your employer’s food safety plan should list them. If you are not sure what your local rules require, ask your manager or check with your local health department.
Does Handwashing Replace the Need to Report?
No. Handwashing is the single most effective way to reduce foodborne illness transmission, but it does not eliminate the need to report illness.
Handwashing reduces risk. It does not eliminate it. A worker with active diarrhea who washes perfectly still poses a risk because contamination can occur before handwashing — on surfaces, on clothing, on door handles. The Food Code treats reporting as a separate layer of protection that works alongside hand hygiene, not as a substitute for it.
Think of it this way: handwashing is what you do every day to prevent contamination. Reporting illness is what you do when contamination has already happened inside your body. Both matter. Neither replaces the other.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to report diarrhea to my manager if I feel fine otherwise?
Yes. Diarrhea is a reportable symptom under the FDA Food Code, regardless of how you feel. The manager decides whether you are excluded from food duties.
Can I work with a bandaged cut on my hand?
It depends on whether the wound is infected. A clean, properly covered wound may allow you to work with restriction from food contact. An infected wound — one that is red, swollen, or draining — must be reported.
What if I was exposed to someone with hepatitis A but I have no symptoms?
You must report the exposure to your manager. Exposure to a diagnosed case is a reportable event under the Food Code, even without symptoms.
How long after being sick can I return to handling food?
For vomiting or diarrhea, you typically cannot return until symptoms have been gone for a period set by your local health department. For diagnosed infections like Salmonella or E. coli, clearance from a health care provider or health department is usually required.
