Posting what I said on this in another thread-

So, this decision is really bad for reasons that go beyond sick workers. It’s really unpopular to mention but COVID isn’t over, it’s not gone. We just normalized the suffering and shunted the most vulnerable into its path. As one of those vulnerables still trying to survive, masking has been an exhausting situation. I mask, I have to, and antimask sentiment makes it hard to operate in a world that already wishes I wouldn’t. Decisions like this cause harm in wider ways. I wrote an email to In-N-Out Owner/President Lynsi Snyder about this in response to this policy. I don’t think she cares what this policy does, but I’m sharing here for others who may want to understand.

I’m writing to ask you to please reverse your recent decision to ban employees from wearing a mask unless medically exempt. This decision shows not only a complete disregard for the health and safety of your employees and customers, as everyone is affected by disease spread, but is also profoundly ableist and lacking an understanding of current (and historic) context. Requiring employees to not only divulge their medical information to their employers but also openly to the public is a mindset rooted in othering people who are disabled or otherwise medically vulnerable. In general, it’s bad when a marginalized group must publicly declare their status as such, but especially now when people are already struggling to survive an ongoing pandemic amidst the hostility of antimask sentiment. This decision furthers that othering and hostility, making those employees into targets. But this decision doesn’t just impact your employees directly, it feeds into that larger cultural antimask sentiment and perpetuates ableism. This lack of understanding of the impact of your decision is a clear message that it’s not just those employees your company does not value, but all disabled and vulnerable people. Please show your abity to learn and understand the impacts of your decision, as well as your disapproval of ableism, and reverse this decision. Further, I urge you to demonstrate actual value for your employees and customers by adapting to our reality and implementing measures to reduce the spread of covid and other pathogens in your restaurants and other workplaces. This can be achieved through simple measures like improving the ventilation and filtration in buildings, improving sick leave policies, and other actions including, yes, masking by employees.

Thank you Xxx

PS This company push to ignore our current reality and new cultural understanding of disease spread is not just callous, it’s boring. Be better.

As someone living on the East Coast who is never within 2,000 miles of an In n Out Burger, I'll continue to do my part.

Next they’ll be like …. No employees are allowed to wash their hands… hand washing is woke.

Love the In N Out double double, it's tastier, and cheaper than McDonalds, but I won't be going back to In N Out again, as forcing employees to be less comfortable and less safe in their working environment, one which necessitates them dealing literally face to face with a mostly uncaring unsafe unhealthy public is the line I draw in the sand. I still choose to wear my mask in public places like retail stores, because COVID is still very real. Everyone should be able to make their own choices, and stripping this right from an employee is not something I want to support with my patronage.

People smiled with their eyes so much more during the COVIDs.

It is obvious when someone with a mask on is smiling.

This is bassakwards. Forget covid, all cooks should be required to wear a mask while in a kitchen for the same reasons they're wear hair nets and we have sneeze guards on salad bars. I don't want some cook coughing on my burger.

Fuck you if your spouse or parents are going thru chemo, huh?

Are they also banned from wearing gloves while handling my food?

Anyway, Five Guys >

In N Out is okay. I'll never understand the cult following this place has. It's literally a case study in manufactured scarcity.

This doesn't really seem like the right community to post this. Maybe try a news community, like !news@lemmy.world? (I think I linked that right)

Ribbit

This is why we NEED worker's unions. They can fight this corporate power bullshit.

Literally why?! This is so fuckin stupid.

I will fight the urge to drive 635 miles to my nearest In-N-Out because of this.

Boycott all fast food, it's a plague on society.

I quit going there recently after reading that most of their meat comes from a place that is so bad it's nicknamed Cowschwitz.

They're mediocre AF anyways.

Am I mistaken or aren't they also major republican donors too?

There are none within a few hundred miles of me so .. I'm doing my part?

When I visited California, there were a few people who were very excited about sharing the In N Out experience. I like a good hamburger, so I was looking forward to it. It was simultaneously disappointing that it was just McDonald's with a different name and off putting that its adherents think anything otherwise.

That's stupid. You want people handling your food to wear masks. At a minimum masks keep most of the boogers and nose hairs from landing on your food.

I like In-N-Out's food okay. What I really like is their simple menu. It's the only fast food my family eats because they can do gluten free safely. The owners are definitely conservative and christian (and weirdly so imo) but those freaks know how to run a well-functioning restaurant. The mask ban is obviously stupid but I won't boycott over it. Sucks for the workers, but also In-N-Out pays better and appears to treat their staff much better than your typical fast food joint. I'd hate to see those jobs shifted over to something like another McDonald's, for example.

TIL - In N Out operates in more states than just CA and OR.

Which states?

Edit: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188706519/in-n-out-burger-bans-employees-from-wearing-masks