Concept · under Hygiene and sick workers
When a sick food worker reports, gets restricted or stays home
When you have certain symptoms or diagnoses, you tell the person in charge (PIC). The PIC then restricts you from food work or excludes you from the building, following section 2-201.12 of the FDA Food Code 2022. Report, restrict and exclude are three different things, and the questions below drill all three.
- ExamPFH
- Questions here7
- UpdatedOct 14, 2026
On this page 6 sections
Reporting comes first
Reporting is your job. Section 2-201.11 puts it on the employee: tell the PIC about a reportable symptom or diagnosis, including the date it started. Deciding whether you're fit for the line is the PIC's job, and some cases go to the health department too.
Report, restrict, exclude
- Report
- Tell the PIC about the symptom or diagnosis and when it began. That's what starts everything else.
- Restrict
- You can work, but away from exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, linens and unwrapped single-use items. Running the register or breaking down boxes, for example.
- Exclude
- You can't work in the establishment or come in as an employee until the PIC can reinstate you under the code's return rules.
What gets reported, and what happens
| You report | Most restaurants | Kitchens serving an HSP |
|---|---|---|
| Vomiting or diarrhea | Exclude. Back after 24 hours with no symptoms, or with a practitioner's note that the cause isn't infectious | Exclude, same return rule |
| Jaundice that started in the last 7 days | Exclude, unless a health practitioner documents another cause | Exclude |
| Sore throat with fever | Restrict | Exclude |
| Open or draining boil or infected wound, not properly covered | Restrict | Restrict |
| A Big 6 diagnosis, no symptoms: norovirus, Shigella or Shiga toxin-producing E. coli | Restrict | Exclude |
| A nontyphoidal Salmonella diagnosis, no symptoms | Restrict | Restrict |
Hepatitis A and typhoid fever diagnoses mean exclusion either way. A diagnosed illness has its own return conditions, often medical clearance and sometimes the health department's say-so, so 24 quiet hours don't settle it.
Your call: report, restrict or exclude
Which symptom gets reported, which one keeps you home, and when you can come back.
Each question is a chit, an order ticket. Answer it and it flips to show why every option is right or wrong.
No. 01
What should food handlers do if they are experiencing vomiting or diarrhea?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 01
- A
Take anti-diarrhea medicine and keep working Medicine can hide symptoms, but you can still shed norovirus or other germs onto food and surfaces.
- B
Tell the manager and stay out of work Correct: Vomiting and diarrhea must be reported, and the worker is excluded, kept out of the operation, until at least 24 hours after symptoms stop.
- C
Switch to handling only packaged foods Even packaged food and its surfaces can be contaminated by a sick worker's hands; these symptoms keep you out entirely.
- D
Wear gloves and wash hands more often Gloves and extra handwashing don't make it safe to work with vomiting or diarrhea; the worker must stay out.
- A
No. 02
Which symptom requires immediate reporting to a supervisor?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 02
- A
A mild headache after a long shift A mild headache by itself isn't one of the symptoms a food worker must report.
- B
Sneezing from seasonal allergies Allergy sneezing isn't a reportable symptom, though persistent sneezing means you shouldn't work with exposed food.
- C
Feeling tired from a late night Tiredness alone isn't a reportable symptom, though you should still tell your manager if you feel ill.
- D
Jaundice (yellowing of skin or eyes) Correct: Jaundice can be a sign of hepatitis A, so it must be reported and the worker kept out of the operation.
- A
No. 03
Which of the following conditions requires exclusion from food handling?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 03
- A
Mild headache A mild headache on its own isn't a reason to keep a worker out.
- B
Norovirus infection Correct: Norovirus is one of the Big 6, and a sick worker with it is excluded because a tiny amount of virus can sicken many guests.
- C
Seasonal allergies Seasonal allergies don't call for exclusion, though persistent sneezing keeps a worker away from exposed food.
- D
Minor cut A minor cut gets covered and gloved; it isn't a reason for exclusion unless it becomes an infected, draining wound.
- A
No. 04
Which of these conditions may require a doctor's clearance before returning to work?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 04
- A
A mild cough with no fever A mild cough without fever isn't a reportable condition and doesn't need a doctor's clearance.
- B
Salmonella infection Correct: Salmonella is one of the Big 6, so a diagnosed worker usually needs medical clearance, and sometimes health department approval, before returning to food work.
- C
A tension headache A headache isn't one of the conditions tied to exclusion or medical clearance.
- D
A head cold that's improving A cold that's getting better doesn't require a doctor's note, though persistent sneezing keeps you off exposed food.
- A
No. 05
After vomiting or diarrhea, what is the minimum time a food handler must be symptom-free before returning to work?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 05
- A
24 hours Correct: After vomiting or diarrhea, a worker can return once symptom-free for at least 24 hours, unless a diagnosis like norovirus sets a longer wait.
- B
8 hours Eight hours is too short; people can still shed germs right after symptoms stop.
- C
12 hours Twelve hours isn't enough; the baseline is 24 hours without symptoms.
- D
2 hours Two hours is far too short; germs are still being shed when symptoms first stop.
- A
No. 06
What should food handlers do if they experience skin infections?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 06
- A
Report to supervisor immediately Correct: An infected wound or boil must be reported so the manager can decide whether it's properly covered or you need to stay off food.
- B
Apply ointment and keep working Ointment doesn't stop an infected wound from contaminating food; the manager needs to know about it.
- C
Wait a few days for it to heal Waiting it out while still handling food lets the infection spread to food and coworkers.
- D
Cover it with a bandage only Covering is part of it, but an infected wound must also be reported to the person in charge.
- A
No. 07
Which food worker behavior most commonly leads to contamination?
Pick one. The chit flips to a note on every option.
Notes on No. 07
- A
Using cell phones Phones carry germs and call for handwashing after use, but working while sick is a far bigger cause of outbreaks.
- B
Working while ill Correct: Sick workers, especially with norovirus, are a leading cause of foodborne outbreaks, which is why symptoms must be reported.
- C
Wearing jewelry Jewelry can hide germs and fall into food, but it causes far fewer outbreaks than working while ill.
- D
Not wearing a hairnet A missing hair restraint risks a physical hazard, not the outbreaks that sick workers cause.
- A
Nothing matches both filters. Clear one of them.
It isn't only your own symptoms
The reportable list also covers exposure. Living with someone diagnosed with norovirus, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, typhoid fever or hepatitis A, or working somewhere with a confirmed outbreak, gets reported too, within set windows after the last exposure (2-201.11(A)(5)). The germs themselves are on the Big 6 pathogens page.
When someone does get sick on shift, the clean-up follows the establishment's written procedure for vomiting and diarrhea events, which the code requires every food establishment to have (2-501.11). The first shift back starts at the hand sink, with every one of the handwashing steps and no shortcuts, and the rest of the rules in personal hygiene and sick workers apply from the first ticket.
Sources
- FDA Food Code 2022 — 2-201.11 reporting; 2-201.12 exclusions and restrictions; 2-201.13 return to work; 1-201.10 definitions of exclude and restrict; 2-501.11 clean-up checked Oct 13, 2026
- FDA, summary of changes in the 2026 Food Code — the illness part is renamed and reworded in 2026; the PFH course follows 2022 checked Oct 13, 2026