Pre-Shift Employee Health Screening Checklist

Most states honor a 3-5 year ServSafe Food Handler or Food Manager certification. Check the expiration on the card kept in the employee folder. An expired card on the line is a common health-inspection citation, especially in jurisdictions that require an allergen-aware manager (MA, IL, MI, NY, RI).

FDA Food Code 2-201.11 requires exclusion of any food employee with vomiting or diarrhea until symptom-free for at least 24 hours. Ask directly — do not assume self-disclosure. A 'yes' answer triggers the exclusion path; the employee may not enter the kitchen.

Jaundice onset in the last 7 days is reportable to the local health department per Food Code 2-201.11(A)(2). Look at the sclera (whites of the eyes) under daylight, not warm kitchen lighting.

A sore throat accompanied by fever is a Big 6 reportable. Restrict the employee from working with exposed food, clean equipment, and single-service items. In a HSP (highly susceptible population) facility, exclude rather than restrict.

An infected wound on a hand or wrist must be covered with a waterproof bandage and a single-use glove or finger cot before the employee handles food. Pus, redness extending past the bandage, or weeping fluid is grounds for restriction from food contact.

The Big 6 reportable pathogens under Food Code 2-201.11 are Norovirus, Hepatitis A, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Salmonella Typhi, and nontyphoidal Salmonella. A diagnosed household contact triggers the same exclusion criteria as direct symptoms.

Even if no exclusion is required today, log the response with the date, time, and manager initials. Inspectors regularly request 30 days of screening logs; gaps in the log read as 'screening not happening.'

Exclusion means the employee may not enter the food preparation area at all. Restriction means they may work but not with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, or unwrapped single-service items. Vomiting/diarrhea = exclude until 24 hours symptom-free. Jaundice = exclude until medical clearance. Sore throat with fever = restrict (or exclude in HSP facility).

Document the conversation: who was sent home, why, when they may return, and which manager made the call. Adjust the floor plan in 7shifts and call the on-call backup if a station is now uncovered.

A confirmed Big 6 diagnosis (not just symptoms) must be reported to the local health department by the person in charge per Food Code 2-201.11(A). Keep the inspector's direct line and the after-hours number posted at the GM's desk.

Hot water (100°F minimum), soap, 20-second scrub including under nails and between fingers, paper towel dry. Watch the first wash of the shift in person — most violations come from a 5-second rinse-and-go at the prep sink instead of the dedicated hand sink.

Pull a fresh box of nitrile gloves in the right size for the cook on each station. Confirm tongs, deli paper, and single-use scoops are within arm's reach so there is no excuse for bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food.

Code 3-301.11(B): no bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods. Salads, garnishes, sandwich builds, plated proteins after the cook step, bread service. Gloves changed between tasks and after every break, every cough, every phone touch.

Hair tied back, hat or hairnet on, beard guard for facial hair longer than stubble. Apron clean at start of shift; soiled aprons swapped at the dish pit, not worn over to the line.

Code 2-303.11: no jewelry on hands or arms except a plain band. No false nails, no chipped polish, nails trimmed. Watches off — they trap moisture and skin cells under the band.

Waterproof bandage first, then a single-use finger cot or glove over the bandage. Stock blue metal-detectable bandages so a lost bandage in the line shows up before it reaches a guest's plate.

Quat sanitizer: 200-400 ppm. Chlorine: 50-100 ppm. Iodine: 12.5-25 ppm. Test every bucket at every station with a fresh strip; mixed-too-weak is the most common BOH violation, and water from a hot dish pit dilutes overnight buckets fast.

Wet wiping cloths live in the sanitizer bucket between uses, not on the counter, not draped over the lowboy. Dry cloths only for hot pans and pulling sheet trays.

Cold-holding requires 41°F or below. Read the calibrated thermometer in the walk-in (not the panel display, which lies). Anything 42-45°F = monitor and call refrigeration; 46°F+ = pull TCS food, time-stamp, and apply the 4-hour rule before discarding.

The shift log lives with the GM's daily folder and feeds the weekly close. Note who was excluded or restricted, who covered the gap, and any reportable diagnosis sent to the health department.

Manager signature with date and time closes out the screening for this shift. Keep 30 days of signed logs in the office binder; an inspector who asks for screening records and gets a stack of signed sheets walks away satisfied.