People who don’t comply with New York state’s mask mandate can be treated as trespassers and a business can remove them from the premises, according to one local attorney.
Those that don’t comply could also face a $1,000 fine for each violation.
An attorney who spoke with Spectrum News 1 says businesses that oppose the mask mandate may be best served by waiting it out before going to court.
“From what the Governor has told us, it’s just a short-term issue for right now,” said Leslie Silva, partner at Tully Rinckey. “They’re going to reevaluate this in January. So it may not be worth it to have any legal challenges because if everyone complies and we can keep these numbers low, perhaps we won’t be looking at this for very long.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul says the the mask mandate is due to lapse on Jan. 15 as a way of getting through a holiday surge.
Since Thanksgiving in New York, COVID-19 cases have increased by 58%. Hospitalizations due to the virus have increased by 70% since that time as well.
