Medical examination of persons handling food; rules and regulations; employment of persons afflicted with disease; food defined
M.G.L. c. 94, § 305B
in effectc. 94, § 305B. Medical examination of persons handling food; rules and regulations; employment of persons afflicted with disease; food defined
Section 305B. The commissioner of public health, on his own initiative or at the request of a local board of health, may require any person working in an establishment engaged wholly or in part in the business of producing, manufacturing, processing, storing or offering or exposing for sale any article of food and whose duties actually involve the handling of food during such production, manufacture, processing, storing or offering or exposing for sale, to submit to thorough examination by the department of public health, hereinafter called the department, or by the local board of health, if said commissioner has reason to believe that the examination of such person is necessary for the protection of the public health, to ascertain whether or not he is afflicted with any contagious, infectious or other disease or physical ailment which might render such employment detrimental to the public health, and whether or not, in the opinion of the department, he is a carrier, so called, of such a disease. Such examination shall be made by a physician duly registered and licensed to practice in the commonwealth, and shall be made without charge to the person examined and at the expense of the department or of the local board requesting it. Such examination may include the taking of samples of body fluids, secretions or excretions for examination. Any person so examined may have his physician present at the examination, and, at the request of the person so examined and at his expense, additional samples may be taken for examination at any laboratory approved by the department, but pending the report from the examination of such additional samples the person so examined shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the department made hereunder. The department, and local boards of health within their respective jurisdictions, shall enforce the provisions of this section, and the department may make rules and regulations consistent with said provisions to carry out the purposes thereof. No owner, manager or person in charge of such an establishment shall knowingly require or permit any person who is found upon examination to be afflicted or to be a carrier as aforesaid, or who refuses to submit to such examination, if required so to submit, to continue to work therein in the performance of duties actually involving the handling of food as aforesaid. Whoever violates any provision of this section or of any rule or regulation made thereunder shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars. For the purposes of this section, the word ''food'' shall mean and include all articles, whether simple, mixed or compound, used or intended to be used for food or drink, confectionery or condiment, by human beings.
Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter94/Section305BFetched: 10/20/2026