Today was the first day my gym opened back up in North Carolina. They wouldn't let me in without a mask. Even after telling them I have asthma and that I'm exempt from the NC mask mandate they wouldn't let me in to lift.
This shit is absurd. I thought it was against the law to discriminate against someone with a medical condition? When is this nonsense going to end?
Fuck Roy Cooper and fuck the Mask Covidians that follow along with this charade.
I hear you. I have a growing list of businesses I will no longer be using because of rude employees barking about masks and distancing. I used to stop by the store and do some impulse buying a few times a week but no longer. I'm very selective with my spending now.
I spoke with the manager. Nobody was rude, they just said that corporate policy was requiring masks and that it takes precedence over NC laws. That doesn't sound right, especially given that their website seems to portray NC gyms as needing masks but the ones in Texas don't.
It is. And their rules and laws do NOT take precedence over Federal Law, aka, the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In order to turn you away, they would have to prove that you pose a "Direct Threat", ie, that you have a fever or are coughing profusely.
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Here is some info that I've put together for a lawsuit of a similar nature and based on NC's order. :
“Public Accommodations” under Title III of Americans with Disabilities Act 42 U.S. Code § 12182 Title III mandates that public accommodations cannot deny equal enjoyment of goods and services to individuals with disabilities.
Persons for whom a face covering would cause impairment due to an existing health condition are exempt from the order.
The order prohibits business operators and their employees from asking for specifics or documentation if a customer claims an exception for health reasons, or denying admittance or service to that person for not wearing a face covering.
No proof of a medical condition or disability is required in order for a customer to successfully claim an exemption to the mask mandate. It is enough that the customer communicates that a medical condition or disability exists that prevents them from safely wearing a face covering.
Direct Threat
A state or local government agency or private business may not have to provide a reasonable modification to the face mask policy if the individual with a disability poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. A direct threat is a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by a modification of policies, practices, or procedures, or by the provision of auxiliary aids or services. [16][17] The determination that a person poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others may not be based on generalizations or stereotypes about the effects of a particular disability. It must be based on an individual assessment that considers the particular activity and the actual abilities and disabilities of the individual.
The business must be prepared to identify how/why that individual’s specific, observable, condition/behaviors made them a “direct threat”. For example, if the person exhibited generally recognized symptoms of COVID-19 (such as aggressive coughing compounded with profuse sweating or visible difficulty breathing), refusal of service without a mask on an individualized basis may be justifiable. Conversely, a business could be hard-pressed to successfully argue that a customer without a face mask posed a “direct threat” if he or she was asymptomatic
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Take them to court, this shit has to end.
What kind of lawyer would I contact? Most ADA searches yield workers comp which wouldn't be my case.