Employers at roughly 500 establishments in Franklin County have 90 days to vaccinate all food handlers against hepatitis A before they are allowed to work.
If employers fail to vaccinate their employees, they face legal ramifications and can be prosecuted.
The new health regulation for food handlers was drafted after two restaurants in the county were closed and mass vaccinations offered because an employee tested positive for the virus. In all, six county businesses and the county jail have been inspected during the hepatitis A outbreak and five food handlers have tested positive.
The “simplified” commission order was approved Tuesday.
Tuesday’s regulation is a revision of a much more detailed vaccination order that was tabled July 23, classifying the violation of the vaccination order as a misdemeanor.
Presiding Commissioner Tim Brinker said there has been a lot of research and discussion on this topic by the commission and the health department.
“The public has raised questions, and the media has raised questions about the timing,” Brinker said. “The commission wanted to simplify the order and all agreed this was the best way to implement something that will change the food industry in our county.”
Franklin County is the home to the largest hepatitis A outbreak in the state this year with nearly 60 people infected since Jan. 1.
Brinker said food establishments will be notified of the new requirements by the health department as soon as possible since the 90-day clock is now ticking.
Producing records of hepatitis A vaccinations will be part of ongoing random health department inspections — if businesses do not comply, they will be shut down.
“It can affect their licensing, and will be classified as a violation of the health code,” Brinker explained.
Brinker added thus far, every discussion he has had with business owners about the mandated vaccinations has been positive.
The new, simplified language states “all employers shall have ninety (90) days from the date of passage of this commission order until all food handlers must be vaccinated. If a food handler declines to be vaccinated, he/she shall be restricted from working with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles.”
Last week, Brinker, along with Commissioners Dave Hinson and Todd Boland, said they had concerns with the umbrella vaccination and how it may affect volunteers working temporary food stands at fairs and picnics.
“According to state law, the vaccine is only required if a food stand is open for more than 15 days,” Brinker explained. “The law also specifically mentions employees. So, any volunteers are exempt.”
After the July 23 meeting when the order was tabled, Brinker said he was optimistic much of the same language from the first draft could be incorporated in the new order passed this week.
Much of that original document was used as the framework for this and future health scares involving food safety and the new regulations will be applicable to all incorporated and unincorporated areas within Franklin County.
Although the new order says it is unlawful for employers not to have their workers vaccinated, one glaring revision was the omission of categorizing the failure to vaccinate as a misdemeanor.
A provision constituting each day a violation of the regulation occurred as a separate, distinct offense was also eliminated.
“It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision of these regulations or any directive issued by the director or health department including, but not limited to, any reporting or record keeping requirement, any order or directive for isolation or quarantine.”
The vaccine order does detail some punishments for employers for not adhering to the new ordinance and states the health department can seek the assistance of the circuit court in enforcement of the regulations, as necessary to protect public health, including obtaining restraining orders, orders of injunction, and other equitable remedies as may be necessary and appropriate under the circumstances.
Another major change was to eliminate exempting pregnant women from getting the vaccine or employees objecting to the vaccine for religious beliefs, or because of medical contraindications.
Specifics about the powers and criteria the health director must follow also was removed leaving the order more vague.
The language that was removed stated “the health director may require vaccination of food handlers for certain foodborne diseases for which a vaccine is available, such as hepatitis A, if one or more of the following conditions are met: The disease is endemic in Franklin County; the food establishment has been implicated in an outbreak of the disease within the past 12 months; or the food establishment has a history of nonconformance with the health department’s rules and regulations regarding food handling and hygiene.”
Also, the commission may establish reasonable fees to pay for any costs incurred in carrying out such orders, rules or regulations, however, the establishment of such fees shall not deny personal health services to those individuals who are unable to pay such fees or impede the prevention or control of communicable disease;
Fees generated will be deposited in the county treasury and shall be used to support the public health activities for which they were generated.
Currently, the hepatitis A vaccine costs about $105 per dose and the owners of the food establishments will be responsible for footing the bill to have current and all future employees vaccinated before starting work.
The health department may offer to administer the vaccine to food handlers at a reduced cost.
The commission order defines a “food handler” as:
• A person who is employed by any person or entity in any capacity which requires the preparation, handling or touching of any food (except uncut produce), utensils, serving items or kitchen or serving area surfaces or materials, in a place where food that is intended for individual service and consumption is routinely provided completely prepared, regardless of whether consumption is on or off the premises and regardless of whether there is a charge for the food.
• Such places include restaurants, hospital cafeterias, school and nursing home kitchens, day care facilities, residential group homes, caterers, banquet facilities, coffee shops, cafeterias, short order cafes, luncheonettes, taverns, sandwich stands, soda fountains, food vending carts and all other eating or drinking establishments, as well as kitchens, commissaries or other places in which food or drink is prepared for individual sale elsewhere.
• The term does not include a private home where food is prepared for noncommercial home use, and it does not include the location of food vending machines.
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