CLIENT ALERT
Andrew Eills | January 12, 2021
As many retail establishment and other business owners can attest, enforcing Governor Sununu’s Emergency Orders pertaining to mask-wearing creates, on occasion, uncomfortable situations for business owners, customers, and employees. In order to ensure the effectiveness of Emergency Orders 52 and 74, which, respectively, pertain to opening businesses and enforcing the wearing of masks within businesses, the NH Department of Justice has issued, effective January 8, 2021 new guidance and recommendations to make life easier for business owners, their employees, and others to implement the requirements of the Emergency Orders.
These helpful suggestions can and should be relied upon by retail establishments and other organizations where clients and customers congregate. For example, the guidance provides that if a customer says she cannot wear a mask due to a health issue, that explanation should be accepted, and if another customer demands to know why that one individual is permitted to not wear a mask, the individual should be provided with the Attorney General’s phone number or email. Other guidance suggests placing a sign at the entrance stating that “masks are required by state law or local ordinance.”
The January 8 guidance offers a useful road-map for business owners and their employees as we all navigate the efforts to adjust to the pandemic.