Coronavirus

Dollar Tree Now Only 'Requests' That Customers Wear Masks

The company will only require customers to wear masks in areas where a state or local mask mandate is in place.

Dollar Tree Now Only 'Requests' That Customers Wear Masks
Nam Y. Huh / AP
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Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will no longer require customers to wear face masks inside their stores, but instead will only request that customers wear them.

Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar, used to have a written policy requiring customers to wear cloth face coverings while shopping. The policy has since been updated to say the company will only require customers to wear face masks "where required by state or local ordinance."

The company made the change quietly and didn't explain its reasoning. But we do know it faced some incidents enforcing the old policy: In May, a Family Dollar security guard was shot and killed after an argument with a customer about mask wearing. That same month, another customer wiped his nose on the shirt of a Dollar Tree employee who asked him to wear a mask. 

Meanwhile, some other companies are going the opposite direction. Southeastern Grocers, which owns popular Southern stores like Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets, reversed its previous policy and now requires customers to wear masks. Other chains like Walmart and Starbucks also require them. 

There is currently no federal mask mandate for the country, but health officials have publicly urged Americans to wear them as they're proven to help limit the spread of COVID-19.