Attorney Addresses How To Handle Anti-Mask Guests; Recorded Webinar Now Available for Viewing

Sep 2, 2020 | What's New

Anti-Mask Customers WebinarWebinar Recording Now Available

Explore Asheville recently hosted a free webinar for partners and the business community titled, “Five Step Action Plan: How To Handle Anti-Mask Guests,” with labor and employment attorney Andria Lure Ryan of the Atlanta office of Fisher & Phillips LLP.

  • View the one-hour webinar HERE.
  • View a PDF of the speaker’s presentation HERE.
Webinar Background

With local and state mandates requiring face coverings in all public places, both indoors and out, there’s been an increase in the number of well-publicized reports of customers and guests reacting in a belligerent, hostile, or even violent manner after being asked to comply with mask rules.

How to minimize the chances of such an incident occurring in your workplace and what to do if an anti-mask guest disrupts your business was the subject of a free webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 10 a.m., hosted by Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau. The virtual event was open to local businesses at no charge.

Speaker Background

Ryan is with the Atlanta office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, a corporate partner with the N.C. Restaurant & Lodging Association. She serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Hospitality Industry Practice Group and is a member of the firm’s COVID-19 Task Force. She represents numerous employers throughout the United States in various phases of labor and employment law.

Ryan spends much of her time counseling employers in day-to-day employment and labor decisions and educating employers about prevention and practical solutions to workplace problems. A significant part of her practice is training human resources professionals, managers and in-house counsel about best practices and risk avoidance strategies for how to avoid and respond to harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims.

Explore Asheville’s Safety Programs & Initiatives

Explore Asheville CVB carries out the strategic marketing and sales programs of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, a public authority with a public purpose that enhances the economic vitality of Buncombe County, benefiting local residents.

From the start of the public health crisis, the organization has advocated strongly for measures to keep the community safe, including mask-wearing as mandated by the executive orders of Gov. Roy Cooper. Among Explore Asheville’s initiatives are: