A lot of people here are quoting the American with Disabilities Act and so forth but that's the wrong approach.

California has their own version of the ADA called the California Disabilities Act and it is much stronger than the federal version. It puts a much higher burden on the business to provide accommodations. Right now Nike is being sued in California for not using masks with a transparent window so deaf people can still read lips. That's only possible because of how strict the CDA is.

There is also the California Unruh Civil Rights Act which makes it a crime to discriminate against anyone on the basis of a medical condition. Civil liability issues are one thing but denying someone their civil rights is the stuff multi-million dollar verdicts are made of.

The best part is that both of these laws have statutory penalties: $1000 for the CDA and $4000 for Unruh. Statutory penalties are an automatic win and do not even require you to file a lawsuit. Simply file a claim against the corporate chain with their insurance carrier and they will cut you a check. Insurance will try to get you agree to hold harmless/not sue which is something you can certainly do for a quick payday if you don't plan to hire a lawyer.

You will need some kind of evidence to support your claim. There's always surveillance by the companies themselves but don't take the chance the footage can "disappear". Use your cell phone. Here is how you get compensation for living in Commifornia and at the same time make corporations pay for violating everyone's rights with mask orders:

1. Attempt to enter a store without a mask on

2. If you are stopped/confronted by a store employee, begin recording on your cell phone. Be visible about recording (don't do it surreptitiously) because California is a two-party consent state

3. Ask to speak with manager (you want to make sure it's not just a case of an untrained or uninformed new hire, a supervisor or anyone who has presumably been with the company for more than a year will suffice)

4. Inform them you have "a medical condition that precludes me from wearing a mask" and ask them "what accommodations will you make for me?"

Now that this point, under California law, they must have an answer. That answer could be something like "we will have a personal shopper do the shopping for you" or "we will deliver the items to your home at no charge" etc. Or of course "you are allowed to shop without a mask" is fine too.

If they make some reasonable accommodation, it's up to you if you find it acceptable. If I'm shopping for produce, I might not want a personal shopper because I want to inspect the items myself, for example. So it's up to you to either accept or reject their accommodation.

But if they do NOT offer any accommodation, or what they offer is clearly inferior to what is available to anyone wearing a mask, congratulations, you win.

5. Ask for the name of their insurance carrier and inform them you wish to file a claim against the store. They have a duty to provide that information, if they claim not to know ask them to follow the procedure for when someone is injured from a slip-and-fall accident in their store.

6. Contact the insurance carrier (or fill out the incident form) tell them you are filing a claim for $5000 in damages due to violations of the CDA and Unruh Act. You can supply the footage from your cellphone if they do not have a statement from the store or footage of the incident.

You can also try to find a personal injury attorney and see if they can scare out a much bigger settlement. The $5000 in statutory damages is well worth the time it takes to write a nasty letter so nearly any personal injury attorney will take the case for free on contingency (you'll give up 1/3 of that $5000 tho but if the lawyer can get them to settle for a lot more obviously worth it).

Insurance companies live and die by actuary tables that tell them how much lawsuits cost. Nobody knows how these lawsuits over mask issues are going to turn out, which means it's a bad risk. Which means settle fast, settle quick.

Good luck and good health to you.

A lot of people here are quoting the American with Disabilities Act and so forth but that's the wrong approach.

California has their own version of the ADA called the California Disabilities Act and it is much stronger than the federal version. It puts a much higher burden on the business to provide accommodations. Right now Nike is being sued in California for not using masks with a transparent window so deaf people can still read lips. That's only possible because of how strict the CDA is.

There is also the California Unruh Civil Rights Act which makes it a crime to discriminate against anyone on the basis of a medical condition. Civil liability issues are one thing but denying someone their civil rights is the stuff multi-million dollar verdicts are made of.

The best part is that both of these laws have statutory penalties: $1000 for the CDA and $4000 for Unruh. Statutory penalties are an automatic win and do not even require you to file a lawsuit. Simply file a claim against the corporate chain with their insurance carrier and they will cut you a check. Insurance will try to get you agree to hold harmless/not sue which is something you can certainly do for a quick payday if you don't plan to hire a lawyer.

You will need some kind of evidence to support your claim. There's always surveillance by the companies themselves but don't take the chance the footage can "disappear". Use your cell phone. Here is how you get compensation for living in Commifornia and at the same time make corporations pay for violating everyone's rights with mask orders:

1. Attempt to enter a store without a mask on

2. If you are stopped/confronted by a store employee, begin recording on your cell phone. Be visible about recording (don't do it surreptitiously) because California is a two-party consent state

3. Ask to speak with manager (you want to make sure it's not just a case of an untrained or uninformed new hire, a supervisor or anyone who has presumably been with the company for more than a year will suffice)

4. Inform them you have "a medical condition that precludes me from wearing a mask" and ask them "what accommodations will you make for me?"

Now that this point, under California law, they must have an answer. That answer could be something like "we will have a personal shopper do the shopping for you" or "we will deliver the items to your home at no charge" etc. Or of course "you are allowed to shop without a mask" is fine too.

If they make some reasonable accommodation, it's up to you if you find it acceptable. If I'm shopping for produce, I might not want a personal shopper because I want to inspect the items myself, for example. So it's up to you to either accept or reject their accommodation.

But if they do NOT offer any accommodation, or what they offer is clearly inferior to what is available to anyone wearing a mask, congratulations, you win.

5. Ask for the name of their insurance carrier and inform them you wish to file a claim against the store. They have a duty to provide that information, typically when someone has a slip-and-fall accident or claims to find a dead mouse in their chili.

6. Contact the insurance carrier, tell them you are filing a claim for $5000 in damages due to violations of the CDA and Unruh Act. You can supply the footage from your cellphone if they do not have a statement from the store or footage of the incident.

You can also try to find a personal injury attorney and see if they can scare out a much bigger settlement. The $5000 in statutory damages is well worth the time it takes to write a nasty letter so nearly any personal injury attorney will take the case for free on contingency (you'll give up 1/3 of that $5000 tho but if the lawyer can get them to settle for a lot more obviously worth it).

Insurance companies live and die by actuary tables that tell them how much lawsuits cost. Nobody knows how these lawsuits over mask issues are going to turn out, which means it's a bad risk. Which means settle fast, settle quick.

Good luck and good health to you.