Abbeville Restaurant Employees Not Required to Wear Face Masks

Many restaurants in Lafayette and surrounding areas are open and serving customers under the Phase Two guidelines. With an increase in cases, many restaurants have had to close temporarily over the past week. Most of the ones that are operating and serving the public are making it a requirement for all employees to wear a face mask. One restaurant owner is doing things a little differently. Dupuy’s in Abbeville is not requiring their employees to wear a mask to work.

The restaurant wants to give the public a heads up before they enter the building that masks will not be worn. They put a note on the front door to let everyone know. According to KATC, one of the owners Tonya Landry Hebert said she has Marfan Syndrome and she says wearing a mask inside a hot building for a long period of time impacted her health and performance. Hebert went on to say that it also affects her employee’s performance. Hebert says she is very aware of the risks first hand as her daughter has Rheumatoid Arthritis, which makes her vulnerable to the virus and she also knows people who have been impacted by the virus, including her brother-in-law who lost his brother to COVID-19.  She stresses that she understands the severity and that putting anyone at risk is far from her intention.

Hebert says she is trusting her employees to take their temperatures before going to work and trusting that they will also follow other safety guidelines. Hebert said she couldn’t get an answer from the Fire Marshal’s Office on whether or not face masks are mandatory.