The Legal Issues Restaurants Need to Face Head on in 2022

Pooja Nair, Partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP, is not only
a business litigator for the food and beverage sector; she’s a
problem solver. Through her work, Nair advises food and beverage
clients, startups, and other businesses on a full range of
issues, from employment and trade secrets to partnership
disputes, intellectual property, and contract negotiations. She
joined The Main Course’s Barbara Castiglia to discuss the state
of the restaurant industry today and what, from a legal
standpoint, restaurants need to know for 2022.


In the past two years, one of the primary concerns for
restaurants is the pandemic and the ever-changing restrictions,
guidelines, and mandates. Restaurants have a lot to keep up with,
ensuring safety while attracting customers and not alienating
customers and staff.


“As everyone’s known since 2020, unfortunately, things are
changing almost every day, so it’s very difficult for restaurants
to have any predictability,” Nair said. “The number one thing is
to be aware that the federal guidance, state guidance, and local
guidance is changing all the time, sometimes on a daily basis.”
The most important regulations for restaurants to be aware of are
at the state level.


Nair felt some guidance, no matter the mandate, could prove
challenging to enforce regarding customers and masks. “It’s
almost untenable to monitor what a customer is doing all the
time, especially if they’re taking off their mask to dine.”


Another concern for restaurants is what to do if there is a COVID
outbreak amongst staff. Castiglia wanted to know how restaurants
should deal with such a scenario and any potential liability
issues.


“This is the question I’ve been getting most of the time,” Nair
said. “And, in terms of what the regulations say, it’s a total
mess. The CDC issued guidelines that we all heard about that say
five days of isolation, and then after those five days, you can
wear a mask consistently, but you are able to be out. OSHA is
still going by ten days, and neither of those requirements
requires a negative to return to the workplace, but an employer
can require that an employee test negative.”