Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Audio By Carbonatix
Just when we thought we could file away our masking policy stories, In-N-Out Burger pulls us right back in.
According to a leaked company memo, starting Aug. 14 the California-based fast food burger chain is prohibiting employees in five states, including Texas, from wearing masks unless they have a note from a doctor. Other states in the ban include Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. In Oregon and California, where laws prevent employers from banning masks, employees can wear company-supplied N95 masks.
These new rules are designed to “emphasize the importance of customer service and the ability to show our Associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals,” per memos posted to Twitter. In-N-Out hopes this will help promote clear and effective communication with customers and associates. Failure to comply with the policy could result in termination.
If there is a medical need for a mask the doctor’s note should “clearly state the reason for the exemption and the estimated duration.”
Judy Stone, an infectious disease specialist, wrote in a column for Forbes that the new masking policy – even though COVID is no longer a public health emergency as of May 11 – can still threaten employees’ health. She points out:
Requiring a doctor’s note is also a burden in terms of time and money. Many people don’t have a primary care physician or one who is readily available. And requiring proof of a disability might be considered a violation of the Americans with Disability Act, depending on how one interprets masking as a request for accommodation.
But people wear masks for a variety of personal reasons. Servers at restaurants, retail workers and people just walking down the street still sometimes wear masks. Why? Who knows? It’s their business. Presumably, to not catch viruses or conversely not to spread germs. Perhaps it’s smog, pollution or social reasons.
We asked a couple of local restaurateurs about In-N-Out’s new no-mask policy.
Shannon Wynne’s resume includes Flying Saucer, Rodeo Goat, Flying Fish, Meddlesome Moth and Miriam Cocina Latina. He says that it’s important to consider individual tolerances.
“Everybody has different tolerances, and we want to be sensitive to workers’ tolerances and fears,” Wynne told the Observer in an email. “That said, a server with a mask on cannot communicate as effectively as one without a mask. Harder to hear, not able to smile, etc., and this may quite naturally affect their ability to make a better tip. There are tradeoffs.”
Chef Patrick Stark spent nine years at Sundown at Granada on Lower Greenville before taking a teaching role at El Centro and running a restaurant consulting business. He’s surprised the chain is still talking masks.
“If someone has a legitimate reason to wear a mask – medical or personal – like living with an immune-compromised family, what is the issue if they need to wear it?” He points out that no one volunteers to wear a mask. Rather, they usually have a reason to do so.
He sees the move as short-sighted, potentially affecting future hiring needs.
“Could you imagine firing one of your best employees cause they need to wear it [a mask]? … For a fast food restaurant to flex on this topic is probably a cheap ploy for attention cause they aren’t doing well in the market or for some kind of company polarization politically, which is happening.”
In-N-Out was against vaccine mandates during the pandemic, choosing to shut down stores rather than make guests show vaccine cards and refusing to be the “vaccination police.”
The irony.
