Food Handler Cards Aren’t an Employee Expense—A Reminder for Employers
Most California food service employers are familiar with the requirement that employees hold a California Food Handler Card. What some employers still do not realize is that, effective January 1, 2024, the law clearly placed the financial and wage-hour responsibility for obtaining that card on the employer, and prohibits treating it as an applicant-side requirement.
These rules apply broadly across the food service industry and carry wage-and-hour risk if misunderstood or ignored.
What Is a California Food Handler Card?
A California Food Handler Card is an official certification issued after an individual completes a state-approved food safety training course and passes a standardized examination. The purpose of the card is public health: it confirms that food service workers have a basic understanding of safe food handling practices designed to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
The requirement is established by California Health and Safety Code section 113948, which mandates both training and testing before a card may be issued.
Which Industries and Employees Are Covered?
The food handler card requirement applies to most employees working in “food facilities” who prepare, store, handle, or serve food, or who work with food equipment, utensils, or food-contact surfaces. This includes employees in restaurants, cafés, bars, bakeries, catering operations, food trucks, and similar retail food establishments.
Covered positions commonly include cooks, prep staff, servers, bussers, dishwashers, bartenders, and others whose duties involve direct or indirect food handling. The law contains limited exemptions, including for certified food protection managers and certain specified facilities, but for most food service employers, the rule applies to the majority of frontline staff.
Employees hired on or after June 1, 2011 must obtain the card within 30 days of hire. Once issued, the card is generally valid for three years and is portable between employers, subject to limited local program exceptions in certain counties.
What the Training and Test Typically Involve
To obtain a food handler card, the employee must complete a food safety training course offered by an ANSI-accredited provider and then pass a standardized examination. The training covers foundational food safety topics such as personal hygiene, prevention of cross-contamination, temperature control, cleaning and sanitation, and general foodborne illness prevention principles.
The examination typically consists of at least 40 multiple-choice questions and requires a minimum passing score of 70 percent. Training and testing may be completed online or in person, depending on the provider.
You May Not Require a Card Before Hiring
As of January 1, 2024, California law expressly prohibits employers from conditioning employment on an applicant or employee already possessing a food handler card. Health and Safety Code section 113948(i)(2) makes clear that employers may not require applicants to arrive with a card in hand as a prerequisite to being hired.
This was an important shift for employers who historically treated the card as an applicant responsibility. While possession of the card is a lawful job requirement after hire, it cannot be used as a screening condition at the hiring stage.
Employers Must Pay for Training, Testing, and the Time Spent
Health and Safety Code section 113948(i)(1) requires employers to treat the time an employee spends completing food handler training and testing as compensable “hours worked.” The employee must be relieved of other job duties while completing the training and examination.
In addition, the employer must pay for the cost of the training and test. The statute expressly incorporates Labor Code section 2802, which requires employers to reimburse employees for all necessary expenditures incurred as a direct consequence of their job duties. Because obtaining a food handler card is legally required for the job, the associated fees are the employer’s responsibility.
Retakes Are Not Excluded from Employer Responsibility
The statute does not limit employer responsibility to a single attempt. Health and Safety Code section 113948 contains no language capping the number of exam attempts or excluding retakes from the employer’s wage and reimbursement obligations. As written, the law ties employer responsibility to the employee obtaining the card, not merely attempting the process once.
As a result, if an employee is permitted to retake the exam in order to pass and obtain the card, the employer remains responsible for paying for the cost of those retakes and compensating the employee for the time spent completing them.
What the Law Does Not Require
The law does not require employers to allow unlimited retakes or to employ an individual indefinitely if they are unable to satisfy a lawful certification requirement. Health and Safety Code section 113948 does not dictate how many opportunities an employee must be given to pass the exam.
However, any employment decision based on failure to obtain a food handler card must still comply with general California employment law, including at-will principles, disability accommodation obligations under FEHA and the ADA, and any applicable contractual or collective bargaining requirements.
The Compliance Takeaway for Food Service Employers
California employers may require food handler cards, but they may not require them in advance of employment. Employers must pay for the training and testing, compensate employees for the time spent completing them, and cover permitted retakes. Treating food handler certification as an uncpomepsated off-the-clock or employee-paid obligation creates legal exposure.
Employers should review their hiring practices, onboarding procedures, and training policies to ensure compliance with these requirements and to reduce wage-and-hour and reimbursement claims risk.
If you have questions about structuring compliant onboarding procedures, handling repeat exam failures, or managing certification requirements without creating unintended liability, experienced legal guidance can help you address these issues before they become costly disputes.