Echo Park in Los Angeles (Photo: Evan Symon for California Globe)
Los Angeles Approves New Proof-of-Vaccine Law To Enter Indoor Businesses
‘We’re going to see an even worse employee shortage in the restaurant industry this month because of this ordinance’
By Evan Symon, November 8, 2021 11:58 am
A new COVID-19 proof-of-vaccination law in Los Angeles that requires those ages 12 and up to be fully vaccinated or have a recent negative COVID-19 test to enter most indoor businesses and public areas went into effect on Monday.
The new ordinance had a remarkably quick turnaround time from draft to law. Originally proposed in late September, a final vote on the ordinance came only weeks later, with the Los Angeles City Council voting 11-2 to put the new ordinance into effect. According to the ordinance, full proof of vaccination is now needed to enter most indoor places of business including restaurants, bars, movie theaters, arenas, convention centers, gyms, salons, and other public areas.
An exemption for medical or religious grounds will be accepted, but only with a valid negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 72 hours. The non-vaccinated will also be allowed to briefly enter to use the restroom or pick up orders inside while at the establishment, but can only do so while masked. The new mandate also affects outdoor events with those larger than 5,000 people requiring either proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test, making it more restrictive than all other city, county, and state vaccination laws currently in effect.
However, Los Angeles city officials have said that enforcement of the law will not be coming until later this month on the 29th to allow businesses time to get used to checking for proof and give employees ample time on working out systems of checking and verification. After the 29th, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety will issue fines and punishments to those in violation. While the 1st infraction will only warrant a warning, the 2nd infraction will bring a fine of $1,000, with a 3rd infraction costing $2,000. All others afterwards will amount to $5,000 each time. All fines and warnings will be given to the establishment, not the individual for breaking the mandate.
City officials said that the new mandate will encourage more residents to get vaccinated, to help make businesses safer, and to protect those that cannot get the vaccine, such as younger children and those with autoimmune conditions.
“Vaccinating more Angelenos is our only way out of this pandemic, and we must do everything in our power to keep pushing those numbers up,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti last week while in Scotland for the United Nations climate change conference.
City Council President Nury Martinez also laid out the reasoning behind the ordinance on Monday, noting that “The intention of this isn’t to penalize businesses. Our businesses can’t afford another shutdown. It’s to limit the transmission of the virus and save lives.”
However, local business groups and others have said that the ordinance will only prove to be confusing to many and that requiring a vaccination proof check will only add to the additional burdens of staff members, who may now also may face increased harassment by customers over it.
“There’s a tremendous lack of clarity,” said Los Angeles County Business Federation policy manager Sarah Wiltfong, in a statement on Monday. “Most retail shops are exempt, but shopping malls and shopping centers are included, which of course includes retail shops. This puts employees in a potential position of conflict, when they’re not necessarily trained to handle situations like that.”
Many now under the new ordinance are especially worried about the increased harassment.
“We’ve had arguments, fights, yelling, you name it over masks alone,” explained Los Angeles waiter Josh Doerr, who has been part of a social media campaign to alert the public about some customers’ negative reaction to the masking laws. “And with masks, you don’t know who has been vaccinated or not. Vaccination proof is much more personal, and we’ve seen a lot more harassment come from it in places like San Francisco which already have some of these types of laws around. And right now businesses are desperate for employees.”
“With masks, a lot of us have either left mid-shift because of a belligerent customer or know those who have in the last several months since the reopenings began in earnest. Turnover is now only going to be worse. You’d wish that people either go or don’t, but a lot of people either don’t know or hope to be made an exception or are doing it just to challenge the system. And guess who gets the bunt of it? Us.”
“The actors and stand up comics and writers among us have developed a thick skin already, but even we have our limits. We’re going to see an even worse employee shortage in the restaurant industry this month because of this ordinance. It will not be great to say the least.”
Enforcement of the new ordinance is expected to begin at the end of November.
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September 19, 2018 -
The buffoons on the city council and county commissioners have no idea what small businesses go through to make ends meet. That’s because they’re on the government trough and their paychecks, and that of he governor keeps coming in every other Wednesday without fail. They don’t depend on customers coming in and making purchases to pay their bills. So, they can be cavalier about idiotic mandates and passing anti-business ordinances while virtue-signaling about a virus that 99.7% of those who get it will survive. This new ordinance in Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City will bankrupt and cause the closure of probably thousands of small businesses that survived the lockdowns and were hanging by a thread. Now they might be gone for good. And these buffoons in city and county government don’t realize, or they do and don’t care, that those small businesses are the TAX BASE that pays their salaries and funds their leftist projects and causes. Stand by.
To clarify some confusion I’ve been hearing out there (and I personally think they LOVE it when we are confused), L.A. COUNTY is not (YET) as restrictive as L.A. CITY. L.A. CITY is large and populous but is only ONE of 88 cities within L.A. COUNTY.
L.A. COUNTY is presently only requiring vaccine passports for bars, lounges, breweries, and such. That’s bad, of course, and should not be happening, but it is not as bad as L.A. CITY. L.A. CITY’s restrictions are completely nuts and ridiculous and destructive and spell death to businesses —- especially small businesses —– already struggling with lost income from previous shutdowns and whiplash from openings and closings and losses and shortages of employees and the rest of the nonsense we have been unnecessarily going through for W-A-A-A-Y too long.
If the LA. County Board of Supervisors tries to pull the same thing L.A. City Council did —– for the WHOLE of L.A. County —– they are asking for big big trouble. I have a dim hope that once they observe the chaos that results from this crap in L.A. City, that the County will abandon any idea of doing the same thing themselves. But we’ll see. They seem to like chaos.
This is what early communism looks like.
Just wait for them to hand out star of david soon.
Obey – Conform – or be cast-out (scarlet lettered)
This is a good and sensible law. Lets hope all cities in the state will enact similar ordinances. No one wants this pandemic to last for years. But that is what will happen if we can’t get everyone on the same page.
W16521
Florida makes no mandate to businesses or people yet they have greatly lowered their Covid numbers.
CA has tried for over a year on masks, vaccine, etc. and has NOT worked.
natural herd immunity works over supplemental vax which can transfer virus to other vaxed people anyway.
W16521 read Oewellianism’s comment to you. You might learn something if you would take your left wing blinders off. Let’s go Branden!
John The “Stupid” Patriot
Everytime you respond to my post, you end it by misspelling “BRANDON”.
Says a lot about your lack of education.
So much anger! So much hate! So typical of lefties.
Watch your mouth, WX19, State Cubicle Worker, or whatever your name is. Sorry if I “misspelled” it.
John gave you good advice. Read more. Drop the fake left-wing nonsense. Your comments are so absurd that a lot of people here probably thought you were joking — in a lame way — but it turns out you’re just a troll whose idea of a good time is pretty pathetic. Also try to know what you are talking about. “Brandon” is one of those names that can have a variety of spellings. That you don’t know that says a lot about your lack of education.
^^^ You might as well have chanted “I know you are, but what am I” like the 7-year old intellect that you appear to be with every post you make on this site, Troll….
you’re being sarcastic, right? right?
if not, look no farther than New Hampshire to see how being vaccinated has nothing to do with stopping the spread of the virus. they have more cases than Florida, which is by far a larger state and only has 50 some percent of the populace vax’d to 70 plus percent for New Hampshire. pull your head out.
You do know these are vaccines that give non sterilizing immunity. i.e they dont stop infections just possibly reduce severity of symptoms. Thats all. They have no serious impact on symptomatic infection rates. The ones that transmit infections to others from day 2 to day 7. So just like the flu shot that has been used for many decades.
You do know that vaccines need a strong immune system to work. So don’t work very well for old people or people with chronic medical conditions. The only people at possible risk from serious SARs CoV 2 infections.
You do know that unlike the influenza SARs CoV 2has a very low attack rate. Less than 20% as against over 40% to 60%. Unlike with influenza only old and those with very specific medical conditions are at risk of developing pneumonia. And the case fatality rate is little different from seasonal flu. For those who do get sick. And just like SARS CoV 1 in 2003, SARs2 is mostly a HAI. A Hospital Acquired Infection.
You do know that the “COVID” test has no clinical validity as it is currently used. In fact if it had been used that way by a doctor before March 2020 when they changed the rules the doctor could have been sued for medical malpractice. The error rate both false negative and false positive when used as screening test make all test results clinically invalid.
And finally, you do know that the standard vaccine safety monitoring system used for 30 plus years currently shows that that almost 70% of all potential vaccine related deaths recorded were in the last 11 months. For around 200 million SARs CoV 2 vaccinations as against the many many billions of very safe other vaccinations over the last four decades.
By the way have you got your 10 year Tdap booster? And the new shingles vaccine looks worth getting.
See, some of us really know the science and know the current COVID “pandemic” is just mass hysteria. The annual mortality rates for lots of countries are coming coming in and the COVID “pandemic” is the first pandemic in history where there was not a big jump in mortality rate per 100K population. Like there was in 2009/2011, 1968/69, 1958/59 etc etc. The last three real pandemics.
Yeah, because science and facts. Right.
https://tinyurl.com/6f3f98sp
Meanwhile LA Democrat Mayor Eric Garcetti who was attending the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, tested positive for COVID-19 even though he was fully vaccinated? What is the point of Democrats on the LA City Council forcing everyone to get vaccinated if one can still get COVID after being fully vaccinated? Maybe the Democrats on the LA City Council who are pushing these vaccine mandates are getting payoffs from big pharma?
W16521
Very well said. Could not agree with you more. Showing our papers everywhere we go is a small price to pay to be safe. They will have to enforce this until the virus is completely wiped off the face of the earth. It’s the only way. After that they should keep it going until all the flu viruses are completely gone as well. The flu kills too. This is the best way to keep us safe.
Posters W16521 and RV from above need to follow the mandates of their Democrat and globalist masters by getting their mRNA experimental COVID shots and get all needed booster shots. They should wear at least two masks at all times, keep at least 6 feet away from other people at all times, and they should cower fearfully in their safe places waiting for further edicts and mandates from their Democrat and globalist masters.
And they should wear diapers especially in the presence of religious leaders like the Pope.
I know sarcasm when I read it. Covid is deadly. Extraordinary measures are needed to end this pandemic.
Your idiocy is deadly.
Those who trade liberty for security will end up with neither.
This virus also lives in animals. Thus it is impossible to wipe it from the face of the Earth. The best approach would have been for Fauci to not fund its development.
You are an idiot.
Angela McArdle and the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County have filed a repeal initiative:
https://www.medicalfreedomla.com/
Thomas Busse, thanks for posting that information.
Garcetti, Martinez, and every Council member should lead the way in getting multiple shots, let’s say 10,or 20 of the real vaccine to prove how safe it is. Just keep jabbing them till they clot, stroke, or Guillian Barre out. Video each and every one of them, then show it 24/7.
Samantha I was being sarcastic. Show our papers until the flu is gone too? W16521 is afraid and will give up rights and freedoms because of it. This is what happens when the main stream media (which leans left) pushes the fear 24/7. People like
W16521 believe it just like so many bought into going to war with Iraq over the lie of WMD’s. This so called pandemic has never been about a virus, its about getting us all on the digital passport and total control of our lives. They need us all to be vaccinated to achieve this. It probably will happen especially since they politicized it. Its interesting to me that W16521 actually comes to this website and comments on the articles when the LA times would be better suited for them. Maybe its because sites like this still believes in free speech and allow us to voice our opinions. Pretty sure you cannot do that on the LA Times or similar sites that lean left in Cali. W16521 has the right to say what he wants and I hope he never loses it.
“lean” left?
LA Times and every MSM outlet are full blown leftist propaganda outlets. They’re not “leaning.”
Nov 8 – 11
https://nationwidewalkout.com
the sound of a toilet flushing
“Show me zee papers!”
Gestapo mandate, 1933
Will the city and county administrations look at the facts and change their minds? Right.
https://tinyurl.com/6f3f98sp
Violates 1A. We have a right to peacefully assemble.