FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK: Small Business Forced To Do The Dirty Work

By VERNON ROBISON

Small business owners have tremendous demands placed upon them. They are busy being hardware store owners, grocery store managers, florists, stylists, barbers, bakers, graphic artists, auto parts suppliers, mechanics, barkeeps and more.The business owners’ time is spent providing these essential services to their communities.

And under the current business conditions, all odds are stacked against them. These folks work long hours and, for the most part, are just hoping to stay afloat. They are all stretched pretty thin. Yet over the last couple of weeks, small business in Nevada has been forced to shoulder an added burden that it should have never had to bear.

Three weeks ago, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak issued a new emergency order related to the COVID-19 pandemic. All citizens are required to wear face coverings whenever they are in public places, he said.

Now, I will not be making any argument here, one way or another, on whether face coverings should be required. It seems that everyone has a different opinion on that divisive subject and there is no convincing one side or the other. Besides, it is off the topic of this column.

The important point here is that the Governor’s order, grave though it sounded, did not have the authority of law. To make it law would, of course, require a vote of the Legislature. No, the governor’s mandate was merely an emergency order. And history has often shown that leaders, given emergency powers, often run wild with them.

Mr. Sisolak knew, when he issued his order that it would not be binding as law upon the general citizenry. We haven’t, and we probably won’t, see police or code enforcement authorities issuing citations against individual maskless members of the public. That is because, if challenged in court, those citations simply wouldn’t hold up. The fact is, the Governor’s face covering mandate is unenforceable.

But Sisolak and his bureaucrat minions are intent that it will be enforced all the same. They can’t go directly after the individual offenders. But they can tighten the screws on Nevada’s businesses. After all, both mask-wearers and non-mask-wearers alike must go to the store eventually. Much of the time that folks are out in public nowadays is spent frequenting businesses of some kind. Knowing this, Sisolak and his bureaucrats have forcefully conscripted the private business sector into serving as enforcement officers of this legally-sketchy order.

How have they done this? Over the past few weeks, the bureaucrats have been out on patrol in force; especially, it seems, in unincorporated Clark County. And small business has taken the brunt. Notices have gone out to several businesses in downtown Overton warning of allegations of “Possible Health Hazards”.

These businesses may very well have bold and clear notices posted at their entries reminding customers of the mask requirement. They may have all their employees wearing masks and standing behind plexiglass screens (newly installed at significant expense no doubt). They may have marked up the floors at 6 feet apart and instituted one-way shopping aisles to remind customers of social distancing (more expense). They may have adopted detailed enhanced cleaning routines, bringing in crews of employees during off hours (once again, at no small cost to the struggling businesses).

But in many cases, doing all of this and more, is not good enough for the bureaucrats. If any member of the public can get through the door while exercising his/her right to NOT wear a face covering, a threatening notice is issued to the business owner. The business is labeled as a health hazard. And a long list of busy work is assigned to the already over-worked business owner to atone for his wrong-doing (also coming at significant cost in time and money).

What if the business owner refuses to bow the knee and do the pointless busy work? Well, the state has an answer for this too: fines starting at $10,000 and/or suspension of the business license.

Is this legal? Probably not. But the business owner knows he/she would have to put out at least that much in legal fees to contest it. Of course, the business can’t afford that. So the business owners comply.

And thus, the strong-arming of Governor-run-amok Sisolak reaches the general public.
These tactics from the state’s executive branch are both cowardly and manipulative. Mr. Sisolak has pronounced an unenforceable mandate and then he expects the struggling small business owners of the state to enforce it for him…and to foot the whole bill for it as well. In a word, it is despicable!

Given all of this, I would just beseech local readers of both valleys to not lash out at our local business owners, or their employees, for getting tough on customers who don’t wear a mask. And for heaven’s sake, don’t boycott them for it! That would be entirely self-defeating.

The blame here clearly doesn’t lie with the local businesses. Small business owners really don’t have much of a choice. They are just trying to stay alive right now; with no help whatsoever from our Governor.

So, if you have frustrations to express, or rage to vent, funnel it all right over to Mr. Sisolak’s office. That is where the blame belongs.

And don’t just complain to him about being forced to wear a mask when you don’t want to. That is an argument that will never end, and it will never convince. Instead, lodge your complaint to the Governor about his inexcusable and unfair victimization of small business owners throughout the state.

Remind Mr. Sisolak that it is HIS job to enforce the law in Nevada, not the business sector’s. If he wants dirty work done, he should do it himself!