HEALNC Guide to Opposing the Mask/Social Distancing Rule
HEALNC Guide to Opposing the Mask/Social Distancing Rule
The following document is designed to support you in writing a statement in opposition to the mask/social distancing rule being considered by the Department of Labor. For more information about the DOL petition see our recent article here.
The government is required to respond to all substantial comments about a rule being considered. It is important to provide evidence to make your statement substantial enough to respond. Examples of evidence might be the cost of this rule upon your business, the science around masking, the standards for a rule for NC agencies, etc.
Please send your written statement opposing the mask and social distancing measures by March 4, 2024 to jill.cramer@labor.nc.gov.
About the Rule:
To whom it applies:
“Every employer, employee, and place of employment in North Carolina within the jurisdiction of the OSH Division pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina”
When it applies:
Any airborne infectious disease designated by the Governor, North Carolina General Assembly, US DHHS, NC DHHS, WHO or CDC presenting a public health emergency.
It requires employers to:
- prepare hazard assessments and response plans
- furnish PPE, at no cost, to employees and others
- establish infectious disease training programs
- update work practices and conditions, including provisions for teleworking
- regularly clean and disinfect all work areas
- potentially modify work areas and air handling systems
Requirements for agencies in the rule-making process
While researching how to effectively object to this claim, we learned of the NC law that defines the principles that must be met for an agency to create a formal rule. We think you will laugh when you see how far this mask rule falls from those principles!
We've highlighted the aspects of the principles relevant to this situation and provided bullets below each principle, which are examples of talking points you may want to use in your statement.
1. Necessary to serve the public interest
- We saw with Covid that masks, social distancing, and other interventions requested by the governor, DHHS, CDC or WHO had no impact on contraction of Covid.
- Masks are dangerous to health.
- Masks are a threat to mental health and relationships.
- Share a personal story if you have one.
- See resources below for scientific and technical research and articles that show that masking is dangerous to health.
2. Seek to reduce the burden upon those persons or entities who must comply
- There are substantial financial and opportunity costs to businesses to implement this rule.
- There is a significant impact on employees required to wear masks that restrict their breathing, cause side effects such as bacterial lung infections and rashes, and increase the risk of contracting Covid.
- See resources below for scientific and technical research and articles that show that masking is dangerous to health.
- Share a personal story about the burden masks and social distancing had on your business or you as an employee.
3. Reasonably necessary to implement
- Share science that demonstrates that masks are ineffective. They are unnecessary.
- See resources below for scientific and technical research and articles that show that masking is not effective.
4. The agency shall not adopt a rule that is unnecessary
- Share science that demonstrates that masks are ineffective. They are unnecessary.
- In fact, for many people they were harmful.
- See resources below for scientific and technical research and articles that show that masking is harmful and not effective.
5. Based on sound, reasonably available scientific, technical, economic, and other relevant information.
- The science does not support masking or social distancing.
- See resources below for scientific and technical research and articles that show that masking is not effective.
6. Cost-effective
- This rule is a significant cost to businesses, putting them at diminished capacity while providing no benefit in keeping people healthy.
- Demand that the DOL conduct a fiscal review. According to NC law, agencies must conduct a fiscal review on any rule that has a cumulative financial impact of over $1 million. Clearly, this rule will cost NC businesses more than that.
Legal Concerns You Might Want to Write About:
- DOL would be abdicating state sovereignty and bypassing the protections of the 10th Amendment by tying local rule to federal and global declarations.
- Does the department of labor have statutory authority to enter into this burdensome rule? Is this not the legislature's job?
- Why is the agency doing this? What is their legal authority?
- "I don't think you have legal authority to implement this rule, and here's how it impacts me..."
Another option: Rebut expert testimony presented in favor of the mask rule
The petition for the mask rule included a statement by Linsey C. Marr, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech University. Please note that Professor Marr quoted zero studies to support her assertions. Prepare a written statement that disputes Professor Marr's testimony. For her testimony, see Exhibit B of the Petition for this rule.
Resources on ineffectiveness and harms of Masks
Face coverings are also not a control method for an aerosolized virus. Masks are not rated or capable of having a proper seal; literature actually states that masks cannot be sealed and do not meet any of the basic provisions of the Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134)
Medical Journal Warns About Masks Potentially Devastating Consequences
Association between face mask use and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection: Cross-sectional study
Bacterial and fungal isolation from face masks under the COVID-19 pandemic
Are Face Masks Effective? The Evidence.
Masking: A Careful Review of the Evidence
Industrial Hygienist Stephen Petty Testimony - See transcript for help capturing what he says.
Please feel free to put any other pertinent resources in the comments below.