A Covid-19 E-Alert.

Masks Required in Certain Boston Workplaces Effective August 27, 2021

Effective tomorrow (August 27th), individuals must wear masks in all of Boston’s indoor public settings. As the City of Boston explained in its August 20th “Order Requiring Face Coverings in the City of Boston,” the mask mandate is intended to address rising COVID-19 numbers and the enhanced threat posed by the Delta Variant.

Face masks may be removed while actively eating or drinking, but must be worn for all other activities. Importantly, this mandate excludes children under the age of three and does not apply to private workspaces that are inaccessible to the public.  Workspaces considered “open to the public” include, but are not limited to, restaurants, retail establishments, gyms and indoor fitness centers, performance spaces and theaters, museums, cultural and historical sites, and municipal buildings.

Boston is far from the first locality to implement a mask mandate: Billerica, Brookline, Watertown, Lexington, Arlington, Somerville, Belmont, Salem, Provincetown, and Nantucket (among others) have already announced indoor mask mandates and other Massachusetts towns, including Newton, are actively considering similar restrictions.

Employers should keep abreast of mask mandates that may impact their workplaces and update their COVID-19 policies accordingly. All policies should include legally-required exceptions for religious and disability-related accommodations. Even in the absence of an applicable mask mandate, employers should continue to apply preventive measures and consider masking recommendations from other sources, including the CDC and OSHA.

Categorized: COVID-19 Resources, Policies

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Tracy Thomas Boland
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Tracy Thomas Boland

Tracy Boland counsels clients on the full range of employment law issues from hiring to firing including performance management, investigations, wage and hour issues, leaves of absence and the accommodations process, discrimination and harassment issues and investigations and reductions in force. She particularly enjoys supporting clients as they work through novel and emerging legal issues such as pay equity and the ever-growing number of paid leave laws. Clients also rely on her to draft and revise employee handbooks, employment agreements, and severance and settlement agreements

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Chelsie Vokes
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Chelsie A. Vokes

Chelsie Vokes is an employment, labor and higher education attorney. She represents clients in the full spectrum of employment litigation matters, including wage and hour claims, discrimination actions, non-competition and trade secret disputes, Title IX matters, and contract claims, in state and federal courts, in arbitration and mediation, and before state and federal agencies. 

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About the Authors

Tracy Thomas Boland
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LinkedIn

Partner

Tracy Thomas Boland

Tracy Boland counsels clients on the full range of employment law issues from hiring to firing including performance management, investigations, wage and hour issues, leaves of absence and the accommodations process, discrimination and harassment issues and investigations and reductions in force. She particularly enjoys supporting clients as they work through novel and emerging legal issues such as pay equity and the ever-growing number of paid leave laws. Clients also rely on her to draft and revise employee handbooks, employment agreements, and severance and settlement agreements

Stay Connected
LinkedIn

More Posts by Author ›

Chelsie Vokes
Stay Connected
LinkedIn

Associate

Chelsie A. Vokes

Chelsie Vokes is an employment, labor and higher education attorney. She represents clients in the full spectrum of employment litigation matters, including wage and hour claims, discrimination actions, non-competition and trade secret disputes, Title IX matters, and contract claims, in state and federal courts, in arbitration and mediation, and before state and federal agencies. 

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