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The role of businesses in Ohio's mask mandate

Businesses try to navigate enforcement of the mask mandate.

CLEVELAND — It's the reminder you keep on hearing in this time of COVID-19: Wear a mask.

Governor DeWine has said that time and time again, and his new mask mandate is the talk of business owners. However, what role do they play in making sure customers and employees wear them?

“When the governor said, this is what as a food service based business, you need to do, that’s what we did,” says Jeremy Umansky, Chef and Co-Owner of Larder Delicatessen. “We take it and we have taken it very seriously.”

Umansky says they’ve been diligent when it comes to enforcing the mask mandates. Although for the most part, he says the majority of people have been accommodating to the new rules, there have been some rebelling against masks.

RELATED: Ohio Restaurant Association: Further restrictions due to COVID-19 'would be devastating to industry'

Umansky says, “There have been a few instances where we’ve had to escort somebody out. It doesn’t matter how you feel about it, this is my business, and this is how I’m running it. If you don’t like my rules, you can take your money somewhere else.”

Cleveland Police also say they haven’t received much push back on compliance and haven’t issued many citations. However, as the state continues to crack down on the mask mandate, police say businesses should continue to call law enforcement if issues arise. 

Case Western Reserve University law professor, Sharona Hoffman, agrees.

“So what the governor has said in terms of enforcement is just that they’ll inspect businesses and presumably there’s some penalty for non-compliance,” says Hoffman.

She says the way the order is currently written, the responsibility actually falls on the business to ensure patrons are complying with mask mandates and social distancing.

Hoffman says, “My understanding is that their responsibility is to ensure that everyone within their premises is wearing a mask, which means either you get people to leave or you get them to wear a mask.”

Businesses that fail to get customers to comply get a written warning for a first offense and if it happens again, the business can be closed for up to 24 hours. Umansky says, even though they’re strictly following guidelines, this seems a bit backwards.

“It’s a shame that it’s even come to a point that I have to be the mask police, that’s not my job,” says Umansky.

Even so, he’ll continue to make sure everyone coming into Larder is masked up and taking precautions.

Umanksy says, “If I post a sign that says, ‘No shoes, no shirt, no service,’ nobody questions that. All I’m doing now is adding no mask to that, no service and that’s that. We’re all in this together, it’s pretty simple.”

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