Can a business refuse to serve someone who does not wear a mask?

A woman was arrested on Thursday, March 11, after she refused to wear a mask or leave a bank that demanded its use in Galveston, Texas.

She was arrested for trespassing on private property and resisting arrest.

The incident, which was recorded on video, came a day after Texas Governor Gregg Abbot lifted restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the mandatory use of masks. 

The detained woman, Terry White, 65, alleged that she was in a public place and accused the police of "violating her human rights."

The officer who arrested her clarified that she was in a private business and that the banking agency had the power to demand the use of the mask.

"Companies have the right to refuse the service ... That is their choice."

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Is it true that a private business, such as a bank, can refuse to serve a person who does not wear a mask, even if its use is not required by state mandate?

Yes, it is true, private businesses have discretion to require the use of masks.

Let's start with the state of Texas: the executive order that Abbott signed on March 2 eliminates the state mandate to use face masks, but is clear in stating that this “does not prevent companies and other establishments from requiring employees or customers to take action of additional hygiene, including the use of covers for the face ”.

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Abbott's order also allows police to act to enforce the law and expel people who refuse to wear a mask in a business that requires it, as interpreted by the Texas State Law Library. 

Both in Texas and nationally, authorities and health experts continue to recommend wearing masks to prevent COVID-19 infections.

"Doctors strongly recommend that everyone continue to wear face masks, maintain social distance, wash their hands frequently, and, for those who are eligible, get vaccinated as soon as possible," said Texas Medical Association President Diana L. Fite.

At the national level, businesses and private companies are empowered to require the use of masks from their clients and reject those who decide not to use them, as long as they do not violate the ADA Law, which protects people with disabilities against discrimination, according to explains the law magazine The National Law Review. 

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Businesses can turn away people who don't want to wear masks as

long as they don't have a legitimate health reason not to - for example, someone with a respiratory condition that prevents them from covering their face.

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However, if a customer has a legitimate reason not to wear the mask, but the business sees it as a direct threat to their employees and other customers, such as people with COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, fever, and difficulty with breathe, it can be rejected, although companies must document their actions and justifications, in case the person decides to question their decision in the future, as explained by The National Law Review. 

For disabled people who have legitimate health reasons for not wearing the mask,

stores are not required to change their policy

, but should try to serve them in an alternative way, without putting other customers at risk, such as online services, telephone service or delivery of products on the sidewalk or at home. 

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What private companies and businesses cannot do is refuse to serve a person based on discriminatory criteria such as race, gender, religion or sexual preferences, as established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and broader laws in different states, such as the Unruh Civil Rights Act in California, which also prohibits discrimination based on immigration status, citizenship, age, and marital status, among other criteria. 

But, beyond these legal interpretations, the truth is that currently 33 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico require that people wear a mask in public places.

As of March 16, only six states have lifted that restriction: Texas, Wyoming, Montana, Mississippi, Iowa and North Dakota.

In Alabama, the governor announced that she will remove the order in April.