Navigating your business through a pandemic can be difficult for salon and spa owners. Our clients are constantly asking about best practices to protect themselves from outbreaks and lawsuits, seeking to keep everyone safe while also turning a profit. This blog is a collection of frequently asked questions with some insights and information from our team.
Can I require my salon or spa employees to get vaccinated?
Yes. Vaccine mandates must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. Since salons and spas are service industries that interact directly with clients in-person, vaccinations are considered job-related. However, any vaccine mandate must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other workplace laws according to the EEOC. If any of your employees refuse to get vaccinated, you should familiarize yourself with these laws and consider accommodations such as weekly testing before you fire anyone.
Before implementing a vaccine mandate, make sure to communicate with your employees and help them understand how vaccinations will make for a safer workplace for them and for their clients. You should also lead by example and make sure owners and managers are vaccinated first before any mandate is implemented.
Although you are permitted to require employee vaccinations, we suggest salon and spa owners encourage and incentivize employees to get vaccinated instead of making any mandates. This tactic can avoid uncomfortable confrontations and possible legal actions. For example:
- Cover any costs that might be associated with getting the vaccine such as travel costs or deductibles.
- Provide incentives such as small bonuses or schedule preferences to employees who get vaccinated.
- Provide paid time off for employees to get the vaccine and recover from any potential side effects.
Can I ask my customers if they were recently exposed to, are experiencing any symptoms of, or have been vaccinated against COVID-19?
Yes. HIPAA does not prohibit salons and spas from asking a client about their medical information, including vaccination status. Of course, your clients can always decline to answer but that decision may result in your salon or spa refusing to service that client as a consequence.
Not only are you allowed to ask these questions, we think you should ask these questions to avoid any potential legal liability and help ensure a safe workplace for customers and employees alike. Our e-forms allow you to create your own questions for clients to answer before their appointments so you can simplify and streamline the process.
Can I require my salon or spa employees to wear masks?
Generally, yes. Many states, counties, cities, and health departments have varying face mask requirements that employers are legally obligated to enforce. Even without a current law or regulation in place, employers may still choose to require face coverings when there is a legitimate business need, such as a genuine concern about employee health and safety according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Be mindful, however, that you will still need to comply with ADA requirements regarding reasonable accommodations if any of your stylists, therapists, or technicians have a disability that interferes with their ability to wear a face mask.
Can I require my customers to wear masks?
Yes. Although the updated mask guidance from the CDC states people who are fully vaccinated don’t need to wear masks in most indoor settings, the guidance still calls for people who aren’t fully vaccinated to continue wearing masks and physically distancing and businesses can still require all customers, both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated, to wear masks.
Before you require customers to wear masks, you’ll have to decide whether that requirement will apply to vaccinated and unvaccinated customers alike. If you will only require unvaccinated guests to wear a mask, we suggest you ask your clientele to abide by the honor system to avoid problems with providing proof of vaccination and potential friction with your client base.
In addition, make sure your business considers the ADA when enforcing mask rules because businesses open to the public must provide accommodations to individuals with disabilities. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be an exemption from a mask mandate – your customers could use a face shield or your salon or spa can provide curbside pickup for retail items.
Can I be sued if someone contracts COVID-19 at my salon or spa?
First and foremost, it is important that you familiarize yourself with city, county and state laws and regulations, local health department rules, and CDC guidance regarding COVID-19 before considering the vaccine and mask suggestions above.
Generally, employees that contract COVID-19 at work are covered by workers’ compensation (if at all). However, there are circumstances in which an employee can sue an employer for not taking reasonable steps to protect employees from the coronavirus. These include instances in which an employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance or when an employer intentional wrongdoing caused the illness. If you have general safety procedures in place and carry workers’ compensation insurance, your risk of an employee lawsuit is pretty low.
Lawsuits from customers who claim to have contracted COVID-19 from your salon or spa also have a low chance of prevailing. This is largely due to the difficulty of proving that visiting your salon or spa was the sole or substantial cause of their illness, among other factors.
**The information provided in this article is not a substitute for legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
