In Pasadena, a City Health Inspector has the right to arrest — that’s right arrest — any employee of a restaurant or other food establishment who is found serving food who has a cold.

Although we would all like to think that an employee who handles food has the good sense to stay home when sick, if some of my experiences in establishments that shall go unnamed are any indication, that is not always the case.  Maybe the risk of imprisonment will help convince that sick employee to stay home.  What else might work is employers offering paid sick leave. 

Employers who balk at my suggestion of paid leave may want to consider that it is unlawful to employ or retain any food handler who has a communicable disease.  So, if that health inspector shows up, the manager who let the sick employee work may also find themselves sharing a cell with the sick employee.