Food workers who handle or are around exposed food or food-contact surfaces are generally required to wear a hair restraint while working.

Core rule

  • Anyone working in or entering a kitchen or food‑prep area where food is exposed must use an effective hair restraint (hair net, hat, cap, scarf, or similar) to keep hair from contacting food or clean equipment.
  • This applies even to workers with very short hair or shaved heads, because loose hair and dead skin cells can still contaminate food.

Typical positions that must wear one

  • Cooks, chefs, line cooks, and prep cooks.
  • Kitchen staff such as dishwashers, machine operators, and other employees who work inside or regularly enter the kitchen where food is prepared.
  • Food handlers who have direct contact with food being prepared or with food‑contact surfaces (prep tables, utensils, equipment, clean dishware).

Who is usually exempt

  • Servers, hosts/hostesses, bartenders, baristas, and counter staff who only handle beverages or fully wrapped/packaged foods are often not required to wear hair restraints, because they have minimal contact with exposed food.
  • Grocery cashiers, bussers, and some front‑of‑house staff are commonly exempt for the same reason, unless local rules or company policy say otherwise.

Key nuance: local policy and inspectors

  • Local health codes and individual health inspectors can be stricter, so some jurisdictions require hair restraints for essentially everyone in the kitchen, including dishwashers and inspectors walking through active prep areas.
  • Food businesses may also adopt stricter in‑house rules than the minimum law requires, so staff should always follow their site’s written appearance and hygiene policies.

Simple takeaway

  • If someone is in the kitchen or food‑prep area and could reasonably shed hair near exposed food or clean equipment, that person is usually required to wear a hair restraint while working.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.