Federal Lawsuit Challenges U.S.’s First Face Mask Ban Since the Pandemic

August 23, 2024 3:57 PM EDT

A disability rights organization filed a federal class action lawsuit on Thursday against a suburban New York county, alleging that its ban on wearing face masks in public violates the U.S. Constitution and discriminates against people with disabilities.

Earlier this month, Nassau County enacted what’s believed to be the first face mask ban in the country since the COVID-19 pandemic. The law, called the Mask Transparency Act, makes it a misdemeanor offense for someone to wear a mask or face covering to hide their identity, with exceptions for health or religious reasons. Breaking the law is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The lawsuit challenging the ban was filed by Disability Rights New York on behalf of people with disabilities, including two anonymous plaintiffs—one known as “S.S.,” a Nassau County resident who has “common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), kidney disease, post-viral syndrome, and respiratory impairments”; and another known as “G.B.,” who is a county resident with “cerebral palsy and asthma.”

“The Mask Ban discriminates against people with disabilities by depriving them of equal access to public life in Nassau County in violation of the United States Constitution, the New York State Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act,” the complaint alleged.

The complaint alleged that one of the plaintiffs, S.S., has “received sneering looks from other members of the public when they are wearing a mask” and is “terrified” to wear a mask in public since the law was enacted. The complaint alleged that the other plaintiff, G.B., “fears that people, including the police, will approach them because they wear a facemask, and will make unwanted contact with them, harass them, discriminate against them, and/or abuse them.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who signed the bill into law on Aug. 14 and was named as a defendant in the lawsuit alongside the county, said in a statement to NBC News that the county is “confident that the law will be upheld as there is a presumption of constitutionality when the legislature acts, and this legislation is reasonable and responsible.”

All 12 Republicans in the county legislature voted in favor of the Mask Transparency Act, whereas the seven Democrats abstained from the vote. Legislators said the new law was prompted by recent protests against the Israel-Hamas war. The law came after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was considering banning face masks in June for New York City subway riders after “a group donning masks took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about Hitler and wiping out Jews.” It was not clear what incident Hochul was referring to.

The law in Nassau County sparked controversy as the New York Civil Liberties Union and some politicians condemned the ban. New York State Senator Iwen Chu said in a post on X before the law was enacted that wearing masks is “a common practice in many Asian cultures” and that kind of legislation “may lead to anti-Asian hate and discrimination.”