In-N-Out Burger requires employees to get doctor's note to wear mask

In-N-Out Burger, the California-based fast food chain, will ban employees from wearing masks at locations in five states unless they provide a doctor's note, a customer service representative for the company said.

Starting Aug. 14, employees at In-N-Out locations in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah will be unable to wear masks without a medical note, according to company emails leaked on social media last week. Employees who do choose to wear a facial covering will be provided N-95 masks from the company.

A customer service representative confirmed the new policy on Tuesday, according to The New York Times, but the restaurant chain did not immediately respond to request for comment from the paper.

The new guidelines were created to "emphasize the importance of customer service and the ability to show our Associates’ smiles and other facial features," the memos state. Failure to follow the new rules could lead to termination. 

The chain's employees in Oregon and California, the latter of which has a law stopping employers from banning masks, will allow workers to wear masks if they decide to do so, but they may only wear company-provided N-95s.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.