Employers May Want to Stop Humiliating “the Help” with Mask Requirements

On Monday night, a “yikes”-inducing photo of Hillary Clinton circulated widely on Twitter. She is shown posing maskless at the Met Gala while a masked attendant is crouched at her feet adjusting the hem of her fancy dress.

“This photo should be in history books that discuss Covid regulations,” YouTuber Blair White tweeted.

Indeed, double standards around enforcement of and compliance with Covid policies and norms have been rife since the rise of the disease. As FEE’s Jon Miltmore discussed back in 2020, political elites have consistently flouted the Covid rules they wish to impose on the rest of us, in effect creating a two-tiered lockdown culture.

Even now, with lockdowns and mask mandates ended, the class divides such policies created still linger. While diners, shoppers, and now travelers are generally free to show their faces, the workers who serve them are still required to “mask up,” as if they are “unclean” or otherwise “beneath” the customers they serve.

The caste distinction on stark display in that photo of Clinton and her attendant can now be seen in many places of business. Masks are becoming a mark of servitude, adding embarrassment and tension to what would normally be a mutually respectful relationship between service providers and customers.

And while “the help” is being humiliated in this way, service industry employers are struggling more than ever to find workers.

“Consumer-facing industries such as accommodation and food services, along with arts and entertainment, had the highest rate of job openings in March, according to the Labor Department. Job openings in the healthcare industry were also near record highs,” The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

In such a tight market for labor, employers are using higher wages and better perks to compete. Service industry employers may want to consider finally lifting their vestigial masking policies as one of those “perks.”

That may be good for hiring, as well as for optics and fairness. It would be a step toward repairing the damage wrought on our culture by the disastrous Covid regime.

This article was adapted from an issue of the FEE Daily email newsletter. Click here to sign up and get free-market news and analysis like this in your inbox every weekday.