Michigan To Require Bars, Restaurants To Take Diners' Names, Phone Numbers

Starting on Monday (November 2), all restaurants and bars in Michigan will be required to record the name and phone number of all patrons. The new rule was put in place by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to help aid in contact tracing as the state tries to reign in the number of new cases of COVID-19. Under the new rule, all establishments that offer dine-in service must log the date and time the customers came in, so the information can be provided to health officials upon request.

Any diners who refuse to provide the information can be denied service.

The new requirement to collect information about customers is not sitting well with some restaurant owners in the state. They are already trying to deal with enforcing mask mandates, which are not popular with many residents.

“Our frontline servers have already had trouble dealing with masks and mandates and mandating masks,” Michigan Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Scott Ellis told WXMI. “We did de-escalation training and all kinds of other things to help with that, and now we’re taking to the next level. We have to gather someone’s personal information?”

He added, “I think when you’re going to sit down at a restaurant, you just don’t expect someone to take your name and number because you’re coming to have a drink or a burger.”

Any establishment that does not collect the information could be fined up to $1,000.

Photo: Getty Images


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