Permit Holder Responsibilities Related to Employee Health

Policy for Reporting Health Conditions

All food establishments need a policy to require food employees and conditional employees to report health conditions to the person in charge as they relate to diseases that are transmitted through food. A food employee or conditional employee shall report the information in a manner that allows the person in charge to reduce the risk of foodborne disease transmission, including providing necessary additional information, such as the date of onset of symptoms, of the food employee or conditional employee. A conditional employee is a food employee to whom a job offer is made conditional on responses to subsequent medical questions or examinations designed to identify potential food employees who may be suffering from a disease that can be transmitted through food.

Reporting Symptoms

Employees must report symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, or a lesion containing pus such as a boil or infected wound that is open and draining. Additionally, employees must report to the person in charge a diagnosis of Norovirus, Hepatitis A, Shigella, Shiga Toxin-Producing E coli, Typhoidal and non-typhoidal Salmonella. The Food Code has guidance for when an employee may return to work based on when symptoms stop or post reportable diagnosis to ensure an ill employee does not cause a foodborne outbreak. If the employee does not know the name of their illness or what they are sick from you can contact the City of Dubuque Health Services Department for guidance. The Food Code has made employee reporting easy as it provides forms which can be used to implement an employee health reporting policy in your facility. The attached forms are used by most food establishments to comply with employee health reporting. The forms educate the employee on symptoms and diagnosis to lower risk of a foodborne illness occurrence from a food establishment.

Download the Employee Health Reporting Form

For more information, contact the City of Dubuque Health Services Department at 563-589-4181.