The California-based burger chain plans to ban face masks on employees in five of the seven states in which it operates, citing the importance of staff "smiles" for customers.
So, this decision is really bad for reasons that go beyond sick workers. It’s really unpopular to mention but COVID isn’t over, it’s not gone. We just normalized the suffering and shunted the most vulnerable into its path. As one of those vulnerables still trying to survive, masking has been an exhausting situation. I mask, I have to, and antimask sentiment makes it hard to operate in a world that already wishes I wouldn’t. Decisions like this cause harm in wider ways. I wrote an email to In-N-Out Owner/President Lynsi Snyder about this in response to this policy. I don’t think she cares what this policy does, but I’m sharing here for others who may want to understand.
I’m writing to ask you to please reverse your recent decision to ban employees from wearing a mask unless medically exempt. This decision shows not only a complete disregard for the health and safety of your employees and customers, as everyone is affected by disease spread, but is also profoundly ableist and lacking an understanding of current (and historic) context. Requiring employees to not only divulge their medical information to their employers but also openly to the public is a mindset rooted in othering people who are disabled or otherwise medically vulnerable. In general, it’s bad when a marginalized group must publicly declare their status as such, but especially now when people are already struggling to survive an ongoing pandemic amidst the hostility of antimask sentiment. This decision furthers that othering and hostility, making those employees into targets. But this decision doesn’t just impact your employees directly, it feeds into that larger cultural antimask sentiment and perpetuates ableism. This lack of understanding of the impact of your decision is a clear message that it’s not just those employees your company does not value, but all disabled and vulnerable people. Please show your abity to learn and understand the impacts of your decision, as well as your disapproval of ableism, and reverse this decision. Further, I urge you to demonstrate actual value for your employees and customers by adapting to our reality and implementing measures to reduce the spread of covid and other pathogens in your restaurants and other workplaces. This can be achieved through simple measures like improving the ventilation and filtration in buildings, improving sick leave policies, and other actions including, yes, masking by employees.
Thank you Xxx
PS This company push to ignore our current reality and new cultural understanding of disease spread is not just callous, it’s boring. Be better.
We just normalized the suffering and shunted the most vulnerable into its path.
That isn’t what happened. We developed highly effective vaccines that keep you from dying and reduce your chance of serious illness and/or long covid. Hospitalizations for COVID have absolutely cratered faster than cases have. Like, the rule they made is fucking stupid, they deserve to eat shit over it, but you don’t have to completely mischaracterize what we did as a society in pushing back against employers being shitty to their employees.
COVID isn’t the only disease passed by aerosolized droplets. The availability of a COVID vaccine is irrelevant.
My feelings are this: if anyone feels like they should wear a mask, I absolutely want them to wear one. Whether that is for their risk from the public, or their risk to the public, if they think it’s needed, it is needed. Err on the side of caution.
Agreed, particularly on the point of want to wear mask, do so. Let’s take back what freedom means. Also, I work in vaccine development, primarily focused on respiratory diseases for oh these short 20 years. We all get all the recommended vaccines because we understand what that means. About 30% of us still wear masks, and are always allowed to join meetings online instead of in person.
Posting what I said on this in another thread-
So, this decision is really bad for reasons that go beyond sick workers. It’s really unpopular to mention but COVID isn’t over, it’s not gone. We just normalized the suffering and shunted the most vulnerable into its path. As one of those vulnerables still trying to survive, masking has been an exhausting situation. I mask, I have to, and antimask sentiment makes it hard to operate in a world that already wishes I wouldn’t. Decisions like this cause harm in wider ways. I wrote an email to In-N-Out Owner/President Lynsi Snyder about this in response to this policy. I don’t think she cares what this policy does, but I’m sharing here for others who may want to understand.
I’m writing to ask you to please reverse your recent decision to ban employees from wearing a mask unless medically exempt. This decision shows not only a complete disregard for the health and safety of your employees and customers, as everyone is affected by disease spread, but is also profoundly ableist and lacking an understanding of current (and historic) context. Requiring employees to not only divulge their medical information to their employers but also openly to the public is a mindset rooted in othering people who are disabled or otherwise medically vulnerable. In general, it’s bad when a marginalized group must publicly declare their status as such, but especially now when people are already struggling to survive an ongoing pandemic amidst the hostility of antimask sentiment. This decision furthers that othering and hostility, making those employees into targets. But this decision doesn’t just impact your employees directly, it feeds into that larger cultural antimask sentiment and perpetuates ableism. This lack of understanding of the impact of your decision is a clear message that it’s not just those employees your company does not value, but all disabled and vulnerable people. Please show your abity to learn and understand the impacts of your decision, as well as your disapproval of ableism, and reverse this decision. Further, I urge you to demonstrate actual value for your employees and customers by adapting to our reality and implementing measures to reduce the spread of covid and other pathogens in your restaurants and other workplaces. This can be achieved through simple measures like improving the ventilation and filtration in buildings, improving sick leave policies, and other actions including, yes, masking by employees.
Thank you Xxx
PS This company push to ignore our current reality and new cultural understanding of disease spread is not just callous, it’s boring. Be better.
That isn’t what happened. We developed highly effective vaccines that keep you from dying and reduce your chance of serious illness and/or long covid. Hospitalizations for COVID have absolutely cratered faster than cases have. Like, the rule they made is fucking stupid, they deserve to eat shit over it, but you don’t have to completely mischaracterize what we did as a society in pushing back against employers being shitty to their employees.
COVID isn’t the only disease passed by aerosolized droplets. The availability of a COVID vaccine is irrelevant.
My feelings are this: if anyone feels like they should wear a mask, I absolutely want them to wear one. Whether that is for their risk from the public, or their risk to the public, if they think it’s needed, it is needed. Err on the side of caution.
Agreed, particularly on the point of want to wear mask, do so. Let’s take back what freedom means. Also, I work in vaccine development, primarily focused on respiratory diseases for oh these short 20 years. We all get all the recommended vaccines because we understand what that means. About 30% of us still wear masks, and are always allowed to join meetings online instead of in person.