In-N-Out Burger—which belongs to an industry where hygiene and safety are key—has chosen an interesting hill to die on this week, confirming that it has banned masks at stores in five states, unless workers can submit a medical note stating that they need one.
To quote In-N-Out directly, “no masks shall be worn in the Store,” the apparent reason being to “show our Associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals.” Screenshots of the internal memo—which was emailed on July 14—quickly migrated to Reddit and Twitter, where critics have not wasted words.
The ban begins August 14 at stores across Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. Workers who feel that they still need a face covering on the job must get a “valid medical note” from a doctor confirming that there is some “specific medical condition or health concern that requires them to wear a mask.”
Notably, this new rule doesn’t apply in either Oregon or California—In-N-Out’s home state, where 70% of its restaurants are located—because it cannot apply there. Laws in both states prohibit employers from preventing their employees from wearing masks. In-N-Out workers in the other states who do get permission to use one will have to wear a company-issued N95 mask; a different type is okay only with another “valid medical note exempting the Associate from the N95 mask requirement.”
Employees who test In-N-Out’s ban are warned they could face disciplinary action “up to and including termination of employment, based on the severity and frequency of the violation.” In what feels like a major asterisk, the memo clarifies that employees who “wear masks or protective gear as part of their job duties” will continue to be required to do so. (The examples given are “patty room Associates, lab technicians, painters, etc.”)
“Our goal,” the memo concludes, is to “balance two things that In-N-Out is known for—exceptional customer service and unmatched standards for health, safety, and quality,” suggesting In-N-Out may see them as being in conflict.
Given the geography (in states where fights over mask mandates were feverish) and timing (relatively soon after President Biden declared the COVID public health emergency over), In-N-Out’s ban may be a response to a certain customer demographic that is triggered by seeing masked-up employees—even if three years of PPE have evolved masks from visually jarring spectacles to common sights at airports, subway stations, and restaurants. Critics of the burger chain’s draconian-sounding policy have compared it to making drivers carry a prescription to buckle their seat belt.