‘Harmful to businesses’: L.A. business owners push back on looming mask mandate

Los Angeles County business owners are outraged about the potential return of the indoor mask mandate, and they’ve joined together to try to force local leaders to prevent the mandate from being imposed again.

Jennifer Boase, owner of MacLeod Ale Brewing Co. in Van Nuys, called the mandate “harmful to businesses.”

“I think we all know this doesn’t do anything except hurt employees right in their wallets,” Boase said. “It affects tips, it affects shifts and everything takes a dive.”

Now she and hundreds of other business owners are pushing back and urging the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to stop the possible mandate. Instead, they want a mask advisory.

BizFed, a coalition of L.A. businesses encompassing 5 million employees, is urging members to put pressure on L.A. leaders.

“We’re just beyond that. We’re better than that and we should implement new solutions,” said Tracy Hernandez, founder of L.A. County BizFed.

Hernandez added that one member has already lost business due to the looming mandate.

“He literally had a big conference cancel on him just two days ago in anticipation the county might do this,” she said.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer has said increasing COVID cases justify a mandate.

“For many this will seem like a step backwards. The reality is we’re living with a mutating SARS-CoV-2 virus. There remains uncertainty around the trajectory of this pandemic,” Ferrer said.

But some business owners say they just can’t understand why L.A. would be the only county in the state to require masking, and they will do what they can to prevent it.

“It just hurts our county that much more when we’re the only one doing it,” Hernandez said.