Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Impose County-Wide Mask-Wearing Requirements

Over the last 24 hours, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, and Pasco County have all passed emergency orders requiring masks to be worn when indoors in businesses. Links to actual copies of the orders are below, but what follows is a short breakdown of the highlights from each order. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions:

Copies of Orders

Click Here for the Hillsborough County Order

Click Here for the Pinellas County Order

Click Here for the Pasco County Order

Hillsborough County Order Requirements

All business operators of an indoor location of a business that is open to the public in Hillsborough County shall require all persons within the location to wear a face covering when not maintaining social distancing from other person(s), excluding family members or others residing in their home and subject to the exceptions listed below.

Business operators are required to ensure compliance and to deny entry to people who fail to comply with the order and to remove people who fail to comply with the order. Only business operators—not individuals—can be charged with a violation of the order. Businesses are also strongly encouraged, though not required, to develop and implement a health and safety plan in line with CDC guidelines and to conspicuously post the plan where persons within the business can see its requirements.

A business is defined in the order as any commercial or for-profit entity that provides goods or services directly to the public. It does not include religious organizations, private clubs, nonprofit organizations, or public schools. Business operators are individuals that control the operation of an indoor location of a business, regardless of formal title or role.

Exceptions:

  • People under 2 years old

  • People observing social distancing guidelines

  • People for whom a face covering would cause impairment due to an existing health condition

  • Persons working in a business or profession who do not have interactions with other persons

  • Persons working in a business or profession who maintain social distancing from another person

  • Persons working in a business or profession where use of a face covering would prevent them from performing the duties of the business or professions

  • Persons exercising, while maintaining social distancing

  • Persons eating or drinking

  • Public safety, fire, and other life safety and health care personnel, provided they are complying with the personal protective equipment guidelines of their respective agencies

  • Someone hearing-impaired who needs to see the mouth of a person wearing a face covering in order to communicate

  • Face coverings are not required if it would conflict with the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Hillsborough County Order goes into effect at 5:00pm on June 24, 2020. Failure to comply with it is a second degree misdemeanor, subject to fines and imprisonment.

Pinellas County Order Requirements

All persons must wear a face covering while in any Indoor Public Place within Pinellas County. All persons who own, manage, or are employed by any Restaurant or Bar within Pinellas County must wear a face covering at all times while on-duty and directly or indirectly preparing food or beverage, serving food or beverage, or having customer contract, regardless of where the food is prepared or if it is served indoors or outdoors. The owner, operator, manager, and employees or a bar, restaurant, or indoor public place must ensure that every individual in their establishment complies with this ordinance. Employers cannot prohibit employees from wearing face coverings, but may provide specific face coverings if they are at least as protective as the employee supplied face covering.

Exceptions:

  • Any person under 2 years old

  • Anyone dining or consuming beverages while seated at a table or bar in a bar or restaurant as long as they are social distancing

  • Persons strictly adhering to and maintaining social distancing

  • Government entities such as schools, courthouses, city halls, fire stations, state offices, etc….

  • Hospitals and health care facilities

  • Persons exercising while maintaining social distancing

  • Public safety, fire, and other life safety and health care personnel, provided they are complying with the personal protective equipment guidelines of their respective agencies

  • Business owners, managers, and employees who are in an area of a business establishment that is not open to customers, patrons, or the public, provided 6 feet is between all employees. This does not apply to employees present in a kitchen or other food and beverage preparation area of a restaurant or food establishment.

  • Patrons or customers in any indoor public place that have no contact with an employee of the business except as protected by a solid barrier that substantially prohibits incidental infection, provided that 6 feet of distance exists between people not at all times protected by the barrier.

  • Where a hearing-impaired person requires someone to remove their mask to communicate

  • Persons who have trouble breathing or while a person is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the face covering without assistance

  • The requirements do not apply if it would be detrimental to health, safety, or security

  • These requirements may not be applied in a manner that would conflict with the American’s with Disabilities Act

  • These requirements do not apply within a workplace area not otherwise open to the public while a person is complying with engineering, administrative, and work practice controls developed in accordance with OSHA guidelines

Failure to comply with the order can result in a non-criminal citation of $100 for the first violation, $250 for the second, and $500 for the third. Repeat violations may also result in a misdemeanor arrest. Owners, operators, managers, and employees, can avoid liability for customers if they ask the customer to leave the premises for failing to comply.

An indoor public place is any location to which the public has or may obtain legally permissible access, whether publicly or privately owned, that is under a roof or is enclosed by two or more walls, doors, or other means of waterproof material, including fabric such as that used for a tent.

An operator means any individual or entity that owns a business or that controls the operation of a business location, regardless of formal title or role.

This order is effective June 23, 2020.

Pasco County Order Requirements

All persons within any indoor location of a business or government operation that is open to the public in Pasco County shall be required to wear a face covering when not maintaining social distancing from other person(s), excluding family members or others residing in their home. All business shall be required to ensure compliance with and enforce the provisions of the order. This includes denying entry to people who fail to comply with the order’s requirements and removing individuals who fail to comply with the order’s requirements.

Exceptions:

  • Persons under 2 years old

  • Persons observing social distancing guidelines in accordance with the CDC

  • Persons for whom a face covering would cause impairment due to an existing health condition

  • Persons working in a business or profession who do not have interactions with other persons

  • Persons working in a business or profession who maintain social distancing from another person

  • Persons working in a business or profession where use of a face covering would prevent them from performing the duties of the business or profession

  • Persons exercising, while maintaining social distancing

  • Persons engaging in indoor sporting activities so long as the facility has its own health and safety plan consistent with this order

  • Persons eating or drinking

  • Public safety, fire, and other life safety and health care personnel, provided they are complying with the personal protective equipment guidelines of their respective agencies

  • Someone who is hearing impaired who needs to see the mouth of someone to communicate

  • This order shall not apply in any manner that conflicts with the Americans with Disabilities Act

Failure to comply with the order can result in a $250.00 fine. The order is effective June 23, 2020, except that the penalty provisions shall not be effective until 5:00pm on June 25, 2020.