young African American smiling working in the food industry at deli

Food Service Industry Safety

Restaurants and other eating and drinking businesses employ millions of people in the United States. The federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) provides resources to help workers in the restaurant industry stay safe and healthy on the job.

Coverage

OSHA’s general industry standards related to foodborne illness generally apply to persons engaged in a business affecting commerce who have employees, but does not include certain public employers (i.e., the federal government, state governments, or political subdivisions of a state).

Note: Twenty-five states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans and have adopted their own standards and enforcement policies. For the most part, these states adopt standards that are identical to federal OSHA. However, some states have adopted different standards applicable to this topic or may have different enforcement policies.

Food Service Employers’ Responsibilities Under OSHA

Key employer requirements include:

  • Furnishing to each of their employees a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to their employees;
  • Informing employees of the existence, location and availability of their medical and exposure records when they first begin employment and at least annually thereafter; and
  • Providing these records to employees or their designated representatives within 15 working days of a request.

Food Service Employees’ Rights Under OSHA

Key employee rights include:

  • Filing a complaint with OSHA if they believe that there are either violations of OSHA standards or serious workplace hazards;
  • Requesting information from the employer on safety and health hazards in the workplace, chemicals used in the workplace, tests the employer has done to measure chemical, noise and radiation levels, precautions the employer should take and procedures to be followed if employees are involved in an incident or are exposed to hazardous chemicals or other toxic substances;
  • Reviewing the Log and Summary of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA 300) at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner or have an authorized representative do so.
    • Note: There are two classes of employers that are partially exempt from routinely keeping injury and illness records. First, employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records. OSHA’s revised recordkeeping regulation maintains this exemption. Additionally, establishments in certain low-hazard industries are also partially exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records.
  • Accessing relevant exposure and medical records; and
  • Requesting copies of appropriate standards, rules, regulations and requirements that the employer should have available at the workplace.

Food Service Safety Resources

The following resources describe common hazards and potential safety solutions for workers and employers in the food service industry:

Restaurant Youth Worker Safety Tools

State Law Resources

The following links provide food safety standards and/or licensing requirements by state:

black and white photo showing employees, their laptops, and notepads at a table listening to speaker

Developing an Emergency Action Plan

An emergency action plan covers designated actions employers and employees must take to ensure employee safety from fire and other emergencies. Not all employers are required to establish an emergency action plan. Even if you are not specifically required to do so, compiling an emergency action plan is a good way to protect yourself, your employees, and your business during an emergency.

You may find it beneficial to include your management team and employees in the process. Explain your goal of protecting lives and property in the event of an emergency, and ask for their help in establishing and implementing your emergency action plan. Their commitment and support are critical to the plan’s success.

What is an emergency action plan?

An emergency action plan is a written document required by particular OSHA standards. The purpose of an employee action plan is to facilitate and organize employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies. Well-developed emergency plans and proper employee training (such that employees understand their roles and responsibilities within the plan) may result in fewer and less severe employee injuries and less structural damage to the facility during emergencies.

Does our company need an emergency action plan?

Almost every business is required to have an emergency action plan. You can use OSHA’s online Expert System to determine whether your company is required to establish a plan. Generally, if fire extinguishers are required or provided in your workplace, and if anyone will be evacuating during a fire or other emergency, then OSHA’s regulations require you to have an emergency action plan.

How can our company create an emergency action plan?

When developing your emergency action plan, it’s a good idea to look at a wide variety of potential emergencies that could occur in your workplace. It should be tailored to your worksite and include information about all potential sources of emergencies. Developing an emergency action plan means you should do a hazard assessment to determine what, if any, physical or chemical hazards in your workplaces could cause an emergency. If you have more than one worksite, each site should have an emergency action plan.

Keep a copy of your emergency action plan in a convenient location where employees can get to it, or provide all employees a copy. If you have 10 or fewer employees, you may communicate your plan orally.

OSHA’s Emergency Action Plan Expert System Can Help

You can use OSHA’s online Emergency Action Plan Expert System to help you write a simple emergency action plan for your company. According to OSHA, this basic plan will be adequate for the needs of many small and medium-sized entities, but may not be adequate for large establishments or those with more significant hazards. Users in such establishments should consider the special characteristics of their workplaces. Users can supplement this basic plan to address any situations that require special attention.

Note that the OSHA Expert System only provides information based on Federal OSHA Emergency Action Plan requirements. If you are covered by a state OSHA plan, you may need to contact your local state OSHA office.

What should an emergency action plan include?

At a minimum, your emergency action plan should include the following elements:

Although not specifically required by OSHA, you may find it helpful to include the following in your plan:

  • A description of the alarm system to be used to notify employees (including disabled employees) to evacuate and/or take other actions. The alarms used for different actions should be distinctive and might include horn blasts, sirens, or even public address systems.
  • The site of an alternative communications center to be used in the event of a fire or explosion; and
  • A secure on- or offsite location to store originals or duplicate copies of accounting records, legal documents, your employees’ emergency contact lists, and other essential records.

Alerting Employees to an Emergency

Your plan must include a way to alert employees, including disabled workers, to evacuate or take other action, and how to report emergencies, as required. Among the steps you must take are the following:

  • Make sure alarms are distinctive and recognized by all employees as a signal to evacuate the work area or perform actions identified in your plan;
  • Make available an emergency communications system such as a public address system, portable radio unit, or other means to notify employees of the emergency and to contact local law enforcement, the fire department, and others; and
  • Stipulate that alarms must be able to be heard, seen, or otherwise perceived by everyone in the workplace.

What type of training should our employees receive?

You will want to educate your employees about the types of emergencies that may occur and train them in the proper course of action. The size of your workplace and workforce, processes used, materials handled, and the availability of onsite or outside resources will determine your training requirements.

Be sure all your employees understand the function and elements of your emergency action plan, including types of potential emergencies, reporting procedures, alarm systems, evacuation plans, and shutdown procedures. Discuss any special hazards you may have onsite such as flammable materials, toxic chemicals, radioactive sources, or water-reactive substances. Clearly communicate to your employees who will be in charge during an emergency to minimize confusion.

General training for your employees should address the following:

  • Individual roles and responsibilities;
  • Threats, hazards, and protective actions;
  • Notification, warning, and communications procedures;
  • Means for locating family members in an emergency;
  • Emergency response procedures;
  • Evacuation, shelter, and accountability procedures;
  • Location and use of common emergency equipment; and
  • Emergency shutdown procedures.

Once you have reviewed your emergency action plan with your employees and everyone has had the proper training, you may want to hold practice drills to keep employees prepared. Include outside resources such as fire and police departments when possible. After each drill, gather management and employees to evaluate the effectiveness of the drill. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your plan and work to improve it.

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Deadline to File Paper Returns With IRS was February 28

Employers subject to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) information reporting requirements are reminded that the deadline to electronically file ACA information returns with the IRS is April 2.

The reporting deadlines in 2018 are for the 2017 calendar year, and are as follows:

  • Applicable large employers (ALEs)—generally those with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents—must electronically file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the IRS no later than April 2. The deadline to file paper returns was February 28.
  • Self-insuring employers that are not considered ALEs, and other parties that provide minimum essential health coverage, must electronically file Forms 1094-B and 1095-B with the IRS no later than April 2. The deadline to file paper returns was February 28.

Note: Employers filing 250 or more Forms 1095-B or 1095-C are required to electronically file them with the IRS.

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Health and Wellness Introduction

The Health and Wellness section features valuable information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Healthier Worksite Initiative. The initiative addresses Workforce Health Promotion, a topic that is receiving a lot of attention in workplaces today. Well-constructed and well-run programs can reduce costs to the employer and improve employee health, productivity and morale.

The information provided in this section is designed as a resource for Workforce Health Promotion program planners in all types of organizations.  Here you will find information, resources, and step-by-step toolkits to help you improve the health of your employees.

Workforce Health Promotion Topics

The CDC has included some very helpful information, guidelines and resources for planning a healthier workplace including:

  • Program Design – Planning and designing a Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) program is essential to ensuring its success. These resources, featuring tools and information about program planning and needs assessments, can help get you started.
  • Policies – This section contains basic information about policies that impact health promotion at federal workplaces and explains why they are important to WHP planners.
  • Toolkits – Designed specifically for work sites, these toolkits help program planners save time planning, implementing, and evaluating specific WHP programs.
African American man in business clothing standing against brick wall adjusting watch

The Job Description

A well-written job description is vitally important to making sure your employees understand a job’s responsibilities and requirements. It is also a key resource to help you review employee performance, hire employees, develop recruitment advertising and make sure your compensation is competitive so you can attract the best talent.

When developing your job description, be sure to comply with disability nondiscrimination laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Compliance guidance is available from the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Job Accommodation Network (JAN).  For more information on recruiting and hiring people with disabilities, please see the U.S. Department of Labor’s page on Hiring People with Disabilities.

The following are a number of the major components of a good job description:

Job Summary Overview

  • A summary statement is a brief outline of a job’s purpose and goals and should be about three or four sentences. The job description details, such as tasks and experience, will be covered in the remaining parts of the job description.

General Information

  • Job title and classification—the job title should be concise (e.g., Senior C# Developer). Be sure to indicate whether the job is exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
  • Worksite location
  • Management/reporting responsibilities –- identify this position in terms of direct reports and position in the company organization chart

Tasks

  • Identify no more than 10 tasks (for example, managing accounts payable, managing payroll administration). Be as concise as possible–try to keep the task descriptions to one line each. Be sure to also include a basic statement that communicates other responsibilities that may be required within the scope of this position.
  • Your tasks should be organized in a logical manner. Begin each task description with an action verb such as develop, organize or coordinate.
  • When describing each task, include the purpose of the task when possible. For example: “Update marketing database to assure all client information is current”.

Skills

  • Identify the skills, expertise, and knowledge base necessary to perform each task listed in the job description.
  • Describe any special skills that require additional training, certification, etc.

Experience

  • Identify relevant past experience required.
  • Include any special professional certifications that may be required.
  • Include any special education requirements.

Work Conditions

  • Work hours
  • Travel requirements
  • Unusual environmental conditions

Compensation

  • Pay range and benefits information
  • Bonuses and any other incentives

Company Description

  • When using the job description for recruiting purposes, it’s important to include a description of the company as well. Remember, you are selling the candidates on working for your company–so it is important to make a great first impression.

Disclaimers

  • A disclaimer can be typically placed at the end of the job description to provide flexibility in adding or changing job responsibilities. The following is an example of a disclaimer: “This job description may be changed to include new responsibilities and tasks or change existing ones as management deems necessary.”

Review Job Descriptions Regularly

It’s a good idea to review job descriptions on a regular basis as tasks and requirements may change. In addition, you want to make sure you have realistic expectations about the jobs being performed.

young man of pacific islander descent sitting at conference room table for interview

New Employees/Onboarding

Hiring the successful applicant will involve a number of important tasks, steps and paperwork. See the summary below for key information.

  • Send the prospective employee an offer letter or contract and other documents, including confidentiality or non-compete agreements if appropriate.
  • Be sure all documents are signed.
  • Prepare for the arrival of the new employee.
  • Conduct employee onboarding/new employee orientation.
  • Complete new hire forms and paperwork (as outlined below).

New Hire Forms – Government Requirements

The following are the various steps and requirements involved in the new hire process:

  • Form I-9 (I9) Eligibility for Employment. All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. To view additional information and download Form I-9, please click here.
  • Form W-2. A Form W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) is given to employees by an employer. Copies of Form W-2 must be given to an employee by January 31 of the current tax year.
  • Form 8922. Form 8922 must be used for filing “third-party sick pay recaps” to reconcile the reporting of sick pay paid by a third party on behalf of employers to employees in situations in which the liability for FICA taxes on the sick pay is split between the employer and the third party under applicable regulations. Whether the employer or the third party is required to file the Form 8922 depends on which entity is filing Form W–2 with respect to the sick pay.
  • Income tax withholding. Ask each new employee to complete the most current year’s Form W-4.
  • IRS individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) for aliens. Do not accept an ITIN in place of a Social Security Number (SSN) for employee identification or for work. An ITIN is only available to resident and nonresident aliens who are not eligible for U.S. employment and need identification for other tax purposes. You can identify an ITIN because it is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number “9” with either a “7” or “8” as the fourth digit, and is formatted like an SSN (for example, 9NN-7N-NNNN).
  • Name and Social Security number. Record each new employee’s name and number from his or her social security card. Any employee without a social security card should apply for one.
  • New Hire Reporting. You are required to report any new employee to a designated state new hire registry. Many states accept a copy of Form W-4 with employer information added. Visit the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement website for more information. For more information on new hire reporting, please click here. For more on state employer services as related to new hire reporting and more, please click here.
  • Using Form W-4 to Calculate Withholding. To know how much federal income tax to withhold from employees’ wages, you should have a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, on file for each employee. Encourage your employees to file an updated Form W-4 for the current year, especially if they owed taxes or received a large refund when filing their previous year’s tax return. Advise your employees to use the Withholding Calculator on the IRS website for help in determining how many withholding allowances to claim on their Forms W-4. Ask all new employees to give you a signed Form W-4 when they start work. Make the form effective with the first wage payment. If a new employee does not give you a completed Form W-4, withhold income tax as if he or she is single, with no withholding allowances.
  • W-4 Form Effective Date. The Form W-4 remains in effect until the employee gives you a new one. When you receive a new Form W-4 from an employee, do not adjust withholding for pay periods before the effective date of the new form. If an employee gives you a Form W-4 that replaces an existing Form W-4, begin withholding no later than the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from the date when you received the replacement Form W-4. For more information, please click here.
  • W-4 Form in Spanish. You can provide Formulario W-4(SP), Certificado de Exención de Retenciones del Empleado, in place of Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, to your Spanish-speaking employees. For more information, see Publicación 17(SP), El Impuesto Federal sobre los Ingresos (Para Personas Físicas). The rules discussed in this section that apply to Form W-4 also apply to Formulario W-4(SP).
elderly male florist present young woman customer with flowers

Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Available for Tax Year 2017

Overview of Eligibility Requirements for Small Employers

New and existing small employers should look into whether the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit can help them provide insurance to their employees. The credit can be worth up to 50% of the amount a small business contributes toward employees’ premiums.

The credit benefits employers that:

  • Have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees;
  • Pay at least half of their employees’ premiums for single health care coverage;
  • Pay average wages of less than $53,000 a year per full-time equivalent (for tax year 2017, and adjusted for inflation in future years); and
  • Offer a qualified health plan through a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace (or qualify for a limited exception to this requirement).

A Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Estimator is available from Healthcare.gov, and an IRS Small Business Health Care Tax Credit information page provides additional details on claiming the credit.

person signing up for health insurance on tablet

Current Requirements Continue to Apply Until Proposal is Finalized

Federal agencies recently proposed to amend the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance so that it may offer a maximum coverage period of less than 12 months after the original effective date of the contract, rather than the current maximum period of less than 3 months. The proposal would also revise the required issuer notice that must be displayed in the contract and any application materials.

Proposal Applicability Date

While the current definition applies to policy years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, a non-enforcement policy applies to policies sold before April 1, 2017, and that end on or before December 31, 2017. The current definition and non-enforcement policy would continue to apply unless and until the proposal is finalized. If finalized, the proposal would apply to insurance policies sold on or after the 60th day following publication of the final rule. Policies sold on or after this date would have to meet the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance in the final rule in order to be considered such insurance.

Background

Under the Affordable Care Act, short-term, limited-duration insurance is exempt from certain market reforms. The allowable duration of such insurance is currently limited to less than 3 months after the original effective date of the contract. In addition, this insurance is not considered minimum essential coverage, which is necessary for an individual to satisfy the individual mandate unless an exemption applies.

Click here to read the proposal in its entirety. A fact sheet is also available.

businessman sick and sleeping on home wicker bench with newspaper over head

TX: Austin Passes Earned Sick Time Ordinance

Employees Earn One Hour of Earned Sick Time for Every 30 Hours Worked

The City of Austin has passed an earned sick time ordinance. Highlights of the ordinance are presented below.

Covered Employers and Employees

All private employers are generally covered by the ordinance. To be eligible for earned sick time, employees must work in Austin for an employer (including work performed through the services of a temporary or employment agency) for pay for at least 80 hours in a calendar year.

Accrual and Use

An employer must grant an employee one hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked in Austin. Employers are not required to allow employees to accrue more than the yearly cap of earned sick time. The yearly cap depends on employer size, as follows:

  • For small employers (no more than 15 employees at any time in the preceding 12 months, excluding family members), the yearly cap is 48 hours of earned sick time per year.
  • For medium or large employers (more than 15 employees at any time in the preceding 12 months, excluding family members), the yearly cap is 64 hours of earned sick time per year.

An employee may request earned sick time for an absence from scheduled work time caused by certain events (§ D). However, the ordinance does not require any employer to allow an employee to utilize earned sick time on more than 8 calendar days in a given calendar year.

Employer Notice and Effective Dates

Employers must display a sign describing the requirements of the ordinance in at least English and Spanish in a conspicuous place (or places) where employee notices are customarily posted.

An employer that provides an employee handbook to its employees must include in the handbook notice of employee rights and remedies under the ordinance. Also, at least monthly, an employer must provide each employee with a statement (electronically or in writing) showing the amount of the employee’s available earned sick time.

The ordinance is expected to take effect on October 1, 2018, pending the mayor’s signature. However, for an employer with no more than 5 employees at any time in the preceding 12 months (excluding family members), the ordinance is not effective until October 1, 2020. Click here for additional details.

Note: Certain provisions of the ordinance may be subject to change upon final approval by the mayor. Stay tuned for additional updates regarding the ordinance.

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