GREENSBORO, N.C. — You're wearing a mask at work, but no one else in your workplace is and you're concerned. What do you do? You email 2WTK and you ask us, ‘Who should I report this violation too?’
We called around: The NC Department of Labor, the Governor's office,
the local health department. But none of them are going to visit your workplace and see if your employer is abiding by the governor’s executive order.
So, then who? Your local law enforcement. Really.
It's in the governor's executive order from June 24. Section F of Face Covering Requirements states, “Citations under this section shall be written to businesses or organizations that fail to enforce the requirement to wear face coverings.”
It goes on to reveal law enforcement and other public safety and emergency management personnel are “strongly encouraged to educate and encourage voluntary compliance with all the provisions of this executive order. “
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Businesses are cited with a second-degree misdemeanor for not having their employees adhere to the governor's executive order. While the Greensboro Police Department gets 2 to 3 calls a day about this kind of thing, they haven't cited a business yet.
“A lot of times just the conversation with a manager or owner of a business and letting them know the this is what you need to do and how you need to do it,” Greensboro Police Deputy Chief John Thompson said.
“And if you follow these steps, you shouldn't be hearing from us anymore. Overwhelmingly, that solves the issue.”
If you're one of the many employees out there worrying about your workplace safety, or the lack of it, first talk to your managers, supervisors, or Human Resource department.
If that doesn't work, the protocol is to then inform your local law enforcement. Do not do this by calling 911, but by calling the non-emergency number.