A Hennepin County judge has upheld Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's vaccine mandate for bar and restaurant patrons, denying several business owners' request for a temporary restraining order against the measure.
The mandate that took effect this month requires customers to show proof of COVID vaccination or a recent negative test.
A group of bar and restaurant owners — including the owners of Smack Shack and the downtown bars Gay 90’s and Sneaky Pete’s — filed suit against the mandate. They said they support vaccines, but argued that Frey doesn't have legal authority for such an order. They also said their staffs are not equipped to enforce the order.
In a ruling filed Friday night, Hennepin County District Judge Laurie Miller denied the businesses' request for a temporary restraining order against the mandate, as the lawsuit continues through the courts.
As to Frey's authority to issue such a mandate, Miller wrote that the businesses "have identified no instances in which Mayor Frey’s actions violated the letter of any state or municipal law."
And the judge wrote that evidence presented by the business owners that their bars and restaurants were being harmed by Frey's policy was "speculative, and does not support the issuance of a TRO."
"The Court recognizes that the pandemic has had a devastating economic impact on bars and restaurants, but the City cannot be held responsible for general pandemic-related business losses," Miller wrote. "The Court commends Plaintiffs for their ability to continue operating through the pandemic. … To the extent that sales may have dropped recently from one week to the next, however, Plaintiffs have not submitted evidence, other then their own opinions, to identify the reason for that drop in sales."
Miller also wrote that because bars and restaurants already have employees trained to check IDs for customers' ages, "checking to make sure patrons have either a vaccine card or a proof of testing is arguably just another compliance check process." She said the "economic harm feared by Plaintiffs does not outweigh the City’s documented public health concerns."
But in upholding the mandate, the judge said she "recognizes that plaintiffs face challenges in implementing a screening process at their establishments." She wrote that she expects the city to help businesses implement the policy, such as training for distinguishing real and fake vaccine cards.
In a statement issued Saturday, Minneapolis City Attorney Jim Rowader said "the city is pleased with Judge Miller’s decision in this case. At the end of the day, the city has been and continues to be focused on helping everyone in our community — residents and businesses — safely navigate this incredibly challenging time."
The lawsuit filed against Frey’s mandate does not challenge the vaccine mandate in St. Paul.