LA To Begin Enforcing Vaccine Mandate Monday
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The city of Los Angeles Monday will begin enforcing its strict COVID-19 vaccine proof mandate, which requires people to show proof of being fully vaccinated in order to enter a myriad of businesses, including restaurants, coffee shops, gyms and nail salons.
The SafePassLA mandate took effect on Nov. 8. However, the city said it would give businesses until Monday before fully enforcing it and issuing fines.
Businesses who violate it will first get a warning, then a series of escalating fines that include a $1,000 fine for a second violation, $2,000 fine for a third violation and a $5,000 fine for a fourth and subsequent violations.
The ordinance was approved by the L.A. City Council in early October. It was later tweaked to remove malls and shopping centers from the list of places that requires proof.
The requirement only applies to those ages 12 and older, not children under 11.
As it is currently structured, it includes:
- Restaurants, bars, fast food establishments, coffee shops, tasting rooms, cafeterias, food courts, breweries, wineries, distilleries banquet halls and hotel ballrooms.
- Gyms and fitness venues, including recreation facilities, fitness studios (including for yoga, pilates, dance, and barre), boxing gyms, fitness boot camps and facilities that hold indoor group fitness classes.
- Entertainment and recreation venues including movie theaters, concert venues, performance venues, adult entertainment venues, commercial event and party venues, sports arenas, convention centers, exhibition halls, museums, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, card rooms, family entertainment centers, pool and billiard halls, play areas and game centers.
- Personal care establishments, including spas, nail salons, hair salons, barbershops, tanning salons, estheticians, skin care, tattoo shops, piercing shops and massage therapy locations, unless medically required.