On Wednesday, January 5, 2022, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis and Mayor Melvin Carter of St. Paul, Minnesota, issued indoor mask mandates for their cities due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, which currently accounts for approximately 68 percent of cases in Minnesota (and rising).
The Minneapolis mask mandate generally provides in relevant part:
any individual who is over age two and able to medically tolerate a face covering shall be required to cover their nose and mouth with a medical-grade mask or cloth face covering in accordance with [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC guidance when in indoor spaces of public accommodation regardless of vaccination status, except for the purposes of eating and/or drinking.
For employers, the mask mandate specifically states: “[a]ll employers of businesses that are spaces of public accommodation as defined by this Order shall require their employees, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a medical-grade mask or cloth face covering whenever such employees have face-to-face contact with the public.” The order defines “a space of public accommodation” broadly as “a business, or an educational, refreshment, entertainment, or recreation facility, or an institution of any kind, whether licensed or not, whose goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations are extended, offered, sold, or otherwise made available to the public.”
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