McDonald's is working to secure masks for some workers following employee protests over anti-mask policies

• McDonald's has begun working to secure masks for some workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, McDonald's vice president of US communications David Tovar told Business Insider.
• Previously, McDonald's did not allow employees to wear masks or gloves to work unless instructed by a doctor to do so, according to leaked internal documents.
• The CDC only advises that healthcare workers or people with COVID-19 symptoms wear masks. However, the agency is reportedly considering changing its guidelines.
• McDonald's workers in Tampa, Florida, went on strike on Tuesday in part because they could not wear masks to work.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

After previously discouraging workers from wearing masks at work, McDonald's is working to source masks for certain employees.

David Tovar, the vice president of US communications at McDonald's, told Business Insider that while the company wants N95 masks to reach healthcare workers, it is working to secure other types of masks for employees at the fast-food chain.

"The CDC guidelines ... are saying that they are not preventative in terms of a COVID-19," Tovar said. "But we also know that there is a comfort that it provides ... to employees and to customers. So we want to try and accommodate them if possible."

Tovar said that once there is supply, it will be focused on hot spots such as New York City, Seattle, and San Francisco. The masks will become available to other locations as needed.

As the fast-food giant works to obtain masks amid a global shortage, Tovar says McDonald's will work on a case-by-case basis to determine whether employees can wear homemade masks to work.

Employees will now be able to wear gloves if it makes them more comfortable at work, as McDonald's has a significant supply. However, Tovar says it will be emphasized that wearing gloves will not replace hand washing and other safety measures.

"Listening to employees, listening to feedback we're getting from customers and others is important," Tovar said. "We know that over the past few weeks as this situation has continued to evolve, we've been willing to listen to make adjustments as we need to."

Previously, McDonald's policies stated that employees were not supposed to wear masks or gloves to work unless they had been told by a doctor to do so, according to internal documents viewed by Business Insider.

"What is our response to customers who ask whether McDonald's and independent owner/operators are allowing employees to wear masks to curtail the spread of COVID-19?" reads one question in McDonald's internal COVID-19 FAQ, which was last updated on Tuesday.

"Under current guidance, the CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory viruses, including COVID-19," reads the answer. "Instead, the CDC only recommends that people who already have COVID-19 wear a facemask to limit the spread of the virus to their surrounding area."

"That said, McDonald's and independent owner operators will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and related state or local laws that may require wearing of a mask as a reasonable accommodation in connection with a disability/pre-existing health condition," the answer continued.

McDonald's workers have protested the mask policy

On Tuesday, more than 100 McDonald's workers walked out of work in protest, as part of the Fight for $15 movement. Workers in Tampa, Florida, called out the chain's mask policy as part of the reason they were going on strike.

"We walked out today on strike at McDonald's in Ybor City. And the reason was because we were told we're not to wear masks or gloves by the GM," or general manager, a McDonald's worker named Gail Rogers said in a video on Fight for $15's Twitter account.

"If we should get sick here at McDonald's, who is going to take care of our bills?" Rogers continued.

Fight for $15's list of demands for workers during the coronavirus outbreak mentions the need to supply workers with personal protective equipment.

"McDonald's must adhere to the strictest safety standards put forward by the CDC and local health officials, including social distancing, and supplying all of us with the necessary Personal Protective Equipment," the list states. "If individual stores are unable to meet these essential safety standards, they should be closed."

Numerous McDonald's workers and employees at other fast-food chains have reached out to Business Insider, expressing concerns about not being able to wear masks at work.

"I have 17 employees at my location and three can't work due to no daycare or school... And three other employees ... are scared to come to work due to this threat and will not return until they can acquire face masks," Ryan, a manager at Dunkin', told Business Insider.

"We know people who aren't sick shouldn't wear them but I can't tell my employees they will be punished by not coming in because of it," Ryan added.

An anonymous 20-year-old McDonald's employee wrote an op-ed for Business Insider about her anger at the chain's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I have a compromised immune system and have been told that I'm not allowed to wear any kind of mask at work because it might 'put the customers off,'" she wrote. "That all I can do if someone sneezes on their money before handing it to me is wash my hands 2 to 3 minutes later and hope they didn't have the coronavirus. That I'm not allowed to upset the customers in any way, shape, or form because 'they pay your paychecks' and 'if you want to keep your job, you'll do as you're told.'"

"Even if what I'm being told to do could kill me, I'm expected to die for this job before I show my displeasure," she continued.

Companies' and the CDC's stances on masks have been shifting

On Tuesday, Walmart announced that it plans to provide masks and gloves to all its US employees.

"If an associate feels more comfortable wearing masks, we want to give them that opportunity to do so," Dan Bartlett, executive vice president of corporate affairs for Walmart, said on a call with reporters.

Meanwhile, other retailers continue to prevent employees from wearing masks or gloves to work. Employees at Office Depot and OfficeMax stores are not allowed to wear masks at work, according to a leaked manual obtained by Business Insider.

Business Insider's Hilary Brueck reports that questions of when, where, how, and who should wear face masks has become a heated question in recent weeks as the coronavirus spreads.

"The truth is that while masks are by no means a perfect tool for preventing the spread of an illness, in a world without a vaccine or any clinically proven treatment for COVID-19, they may be one more ounce of prevention that can help slow the spread across a community, especially when people who don't yet know they're infected wear them to protect others," Brueck reports.

Masks may be most effective at preventing people who do not yet know they're sick from spreading the coronavirus, as opposed to preventing people who wear the masks from getting it. But, experts are now saying that any type of mask could be better than nothing in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

As of Wednesday, the CDC does not currently advise that people wear masks unless they are healthcare workers or individuals with symptoms of COVID-19.

However, this week The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that the CDC is debating changing its policies. According to The Post, the CDC may recommend that people begin fashioning their own masks to cover their faces in public, while continuing to emphasize that only healthcare workers should have surgical masks and N95 masks during the outbreak.

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BREAKING: Florida @McDonalds workers just walked off ON STRIKE.

The company won't allow us to wear gloves or masks. McDonald's must provide us with safe workplaces, but they'd rather lobby against #PaidSickLeave than do what's right. #FightFor15 https://t.co/NqpVRr3lOo pic.twitter.com/kUidHf5JoE

- Fight for 15 Florida (@FightFor15FL) March 31, 2020