(C) Minnesota Reformer
This unaltered story was originally published on MinnesotaReformer.com [1]
Licensed under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 [2]
------------------
Judge allows Minneapolis’ vaccine-or-test mandate to stand for restaurants and bars
By: ['Max Nesterak', 'More From Author', '- January'], Minnesota Reformer
Date: 2022-01
A Hennepin County judge denied a request from a group of Minneapolis restaurant and bar owners for the court to temporarily halt enforcement of the city’s new requirement that customers show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test.
In a ruling filed on Friday, Judge Laurie Miller rejected the claim from the seven business owners that the requirement would be so economically devastating that it must be immediately blocked as their lawsuit proceeds.
“The economic harm feared by Plaintiffs does not outweigh the City’s documented public health concerns,” Miller wrote. “The Court recognizes that the pandemic has had a devastating economic impact on bars and restaurants, but the City cannot be held responsible for general pandemic-related business losses.”
The judge called the business owners’ claims of lost revenue because of the requirement “speculative.”
“Perhaps some patrons are staying away because they fear the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Perhaps some patrons are staying home due to the weather. Perhaps some patrons have chosen to stay away from Plaintiffs’ establishments solely due to their desire to avoid having to comply with (the requirement), but that has not been shown on the record before the Court,” Miller wrote.
Miller also stated she does not believe the business owners will ultimately succeed in their lawsuit, in which they argue Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey overstepped his legal authority in instituting the requirement and that there is no longer a COVID-19 emergency.
The lawsuit was filed by owners of the Gay 90’s, Sneaky Pete’s, Smack Shack, Urban Forage, Wild Greg’s Saloon, a Jimmy John’s franchisee and Bunker’s Music Bar & Grill, who said the requirement is a “misuse of mayoral power” and puts an unfair burden on them.
“Minneapolis bars and restaurants are being used as pawns to further Mayor Frey’s agenda of pushing for and convincing the public to get vaccinated,” their complaint reads. “Whether the end being sought is noble, the scheme is forcing restaurants and bars to lose additional patrons and business.”
Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter held a joint news conference earlier this month announcing identical orders, which took effect on Jan. 19, saying they needed to implement the requirement to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious omicron variant.
It requires customers to have completed a vaccine series for COVID-19 or show a negative test result completed by a professional testing agency — at-home tests are not sufficient — within the past 72 hours.
Other cities across the country, including New York, San Francisco and Chicago, have implemented similar mandates despite also facing legal challenges.
Some Twin Cities businesses had already begun requiring patrons to show their vaccination cards or a negative COVID-19 test before Frey’s order, including First Avenue, the Guthrie, Fair State Brewing and others.
[END]
[1] Url:
https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/judge-allows-minneapolis-vaccine-or-test-mandate-to-stand-for-restaurant-and-bars/
[2] Url:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Minnesota Reformer via Magical Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/
