Skip to main content

Tamburino Talks Law: Ongoing mask discussion and how the Minneapolis requirement works



The ongoing mask discussion is leading to questions around the Minneapolis requirement. I discuss how the requirement works just click here to see my latest Tamburino Talks Law


On May 21st the Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis issued an executive order mandating that anyone who enters a place of public accommodation must wear a mask.  The order took effect at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26th, and no end date is stated.  There are three issues involved in this order that should be explained.

 

First, the order is legal.  Pursuant to state law, the mayor of Minneapolis, as well as a mayor in any other Minnesota city, has emergency powers that allow him/her to issue emergency orders during a peacetime state of emergency as long as the orders are ratified by the city council.  Here in Minnesota, we have been living under Gov. Walz’s peacetime emergency order since March 13th.  Mayor Frey issued the mask order as part of the peacetime emergency and the order was ratified by the Minneapolis City Council.  Therefore, the order is legal.

 

Second, a place of public accommodation is basically any place that is open to the public. Examples of such places are: gas stations, stores, office buildings, skyways, restaurants, bars, breweries, malls, theaters, salons, tobacco shops, churches, synagogues mosques, and the common areas of hotels.  It does not include individual hotel rooms, private offices, or any outdoor spaces.

 

Lastly, the timing of this order is perplexing because the mayor could have issued this order right after Gov. Walz issued a peacetime emergency declaration in March, and the mayor never gave a reason for why he waited so long.  Perhaps he was hoping that Covid-19 would dissipate quickly and hospitalization rates would significantly decrease?  We don’t know.  But, the order now exists and it is a misdemeanor (punishable by up to 90 days in jail and up to $1,000.00 in fines) for any violation.

 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tamburino Talks Law: Gov. Walz Issues Statewide Mask Order

Click Here to Listen to Tamburino Talks Law: Governor Walz Issues Statewide Mask Order When the new rule goes into effect July 25th, Minnesota will be the latest of about 30 states who've introduced similar mask-wearing requirements. Gov. Walz makes it mandatory that anyone older than 2 years old wear a mask when they enter any building or structure that is open to the public.  Such places would include gas stations, stores, coffee shops, public restrooms and schools.   Public and private schools and places of higher-learning are expected to open in some form this fall, and anyone entering those places (students, faculty, staff, or visitors) would need to wear a mask as part of the order.  The order would also apply to anyone in daycare and after-school centers, which means that a 4 year old child in preschool up to a twenty-something student in college would need to wear masks when they’re at school. While individuals can face a misdemeanor fine of up to $100 or a busine...

Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel Advisory List

Click Here to Listen to Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel  Advisory  List  Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York recently added Minnesota to the list of approximately 22 states that are part of  New York  special travel advisories and quarantine rules.   New York  decided that any person traveling to  New York  from a state that has a positive Covid-19 testing rate in excess of 10%, or a number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents, based on a 7 day rolling average, must self quarantine for 14 days before they are allowed to travel freely within  New York  state.  There are exceptions for essential workers (such as health care professionals), and for people who are simply traveling through  New York  and would only be in the state for less than 24 hours.  The new rules also differentiate airline travel from non-airline travel.  First, if you fly into any airport in  New York...

Tamburino Talks Law: Wisconsin pharmacist charged in vaccine case

  A Wisconsin pharmacist convinced the world was “crashing down” told police he tried to ruin hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine because he believed the shots would mutate people’s DNA, according to court documents released Monday. Police north of Milwaukee, arrested Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist Steven Brandenburg last week following an investigation into the 57 spoiled vials of the Modern vaccine, which officials say contained enough doses to inoculate more than 500 people. Charges are pending. A detective wrote in a probable cause statement that Brandenburg, 46, is an admitted conspiracy theorist and that he told investigators he intentionally tried to ruin the vaccine because it could hurt people by changing their DNA. Misinformation around the COVID-19 vaccines has surged online with false claims circulating on everything from the vaccines’ ingredients to its possible side effects. What are the full scope of charges Brandenburg could face related to tampering with CO...