I’m a server and I’m sick. How do I call out, and do I have to stay home?
The short answer
Step by step
Say you wake up at 9 a.m. throwing up, and you’re on the schedule at 4 p.m. (illustrative).
- Check your handbook’s call-out rule first. It may say who to contact, how (call or text), how far ahead, and whether you have to find your own cover.
- Call the manager on duty. If the house rule says call, a text alone may not count. Text afterward so you have a written record.
- Do it as early as you can. At 9 a.m., not 3:30 p.m. The earlier they know, the easier the shift is to cover.
- Say you’re sick, and whether you can safely be around food. Name the symptom if it’s vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, or a sore throat with fever.
- Ask how they want you to check in about your next shift.
Example wording
On the phone: “Hi, it’s Sam. I’m sick and can’t work my 4 o’clock tonight. I’ve been throwing up since this morning, so I shouldn’t be around food. I wanted to tell you as early as I could. I’ll check in tomorrow by noon about my next shift.”
If it’s not a food-safety symptom: “Hi, it’s Sam. I have a bad migraine and can’t work my 4 o’clock tonight. I’m calling now so you have time to cover it.”
Follow-up text: “Following up on my 9:15 call with Jordan: I’m out sick for tonight’s 4 p.m. shift. Thanks.”
Not tax or legal advice. Names and times are made up. Your handbook’s call-out rule and your local health department’s rules come first.
Plain English
When the Food Code says you stay home
The FDA Food Code is a model food-safety code that FDA offers to state and local governments to adopt. The version your health department enforces may be a different edition or have local changes. It applies to “food employees,” which it defines as anyone working with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces.
The Food Code has food employees report these symptoms to the person in charge: vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, and an infected wound or boil that’s open or draining and not properly covered. It also covers illnesses diagnosed by a health practitioner, such as norovirus and hepatitis A.
| Symptom | What the Food Code says for a restaurant worker |
|---|---|
| Vomiting or diarrhea | Excluded: kept out of work, unless it’s from a noninfectious condition |
| Jaundice that started in the last 7 days | Excluded, unless a health practitioner documents it isn’t hepatitis A or another fecal-orally transmitted infection |
| Sore throat with fever | Restricted: kept away from exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, and linens |
| Infected wound or boil, open or draining, not covered | Restricted |
The table is for a regular restaurant. At places that serve a highly susceptible population, such as a hospital, nursing home, or day care, a sore throat with fever means exclusion, not restriction.
Coming back after vomiting or diarrhea with no diagnosis: the Food Code lets you return once you’ve had no symptoms for at least 24 hours, or with a note from a health practitioner saying the symptom is from a noninfectious condition. Different rules apply after a diagnosis like norovirus or hepatitis A.
Sick pay: there’s no federal rule
The U.S. Department of Labor says there are currently no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave. Some states require paid sick leave; others don’t. Your employer may also have its own policy, so check your handbook.
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain medical situations. You’re eligible only if you’ve worked for your employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
To look up your state’s sick-leave rule, DOL keeps a list of state labor offices. In Canada, check your province’s employment standards office.
Common mistakes
- Texting a coworker instead of the manager the house rule names.
- Waiting until an hour before your shift to decide.
- Leaving out that you’ve been throwing up, which is the detail the Food Code has you report.
- Coming back the next morning while you still have symptoms.
- Not keeping the follow-up text or the name of who you talked to.
Official sources
Last verified:
Checked the employee-health sections of the FDA Food Code 2022 (January 18, 2023 version) and the Food Code 2026, which read the same on these points, plus DOL’s Sick Leave page and state labor offices list.
Still open: FDA has published a 2026 Food Code, and your health department may still enforce an earlier edition. State and local sick-leave laws aren’t covered here.