In-N-Out fined $750 by a California county over COVID-19 rules, after a 2nd of its restaurants failed to check diners' vaccine cards, a report says
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- In-N-Out in Pleasant Hill, California, was fined $750 for violating county orders, The SFC reports.
- The restaurant failed to check vaccination cards of indoor diners, per a county spokesperson.
- It follows the temporary closure of another In-N-Out restaurant in San Francisco for the same reason.
California's In-N-Out burger chain was fined $750 for failing to verify customers' vaccination cards at a location in Contra Costa County, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Wednesday.
The fine came after repeated complaints from residents that staff at In-N-Out's location in Pleasant Hill weren't checking vaccine cards of customers sitting indoors, county spokesperson Karl Fischer told The Chronicle.
The news followed the temporary closure of a separate In-N-Out location Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco on October 14.
That restaurant was also found to have violated county health orders by not checking vaccination proof of indoor diners, the Chronicle reported, citing the city's public health department. In response to the closure incident, Arnie Wensinger, the company's chief legal and business officer, told Insider that the orders were "unreasonable and invasive" and that In-N-Out "refuses to become the vaccination police for any government."
Contra Costa county's vaccine verification order, which went into effect September 22, requires restaurant customers who are 12 or older to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from the previous three days to enter indoor areas, according to Contra Costa County's website.
Following residents' complaints, enforcement officers went to In-N-Out in Pleasant Hill three times, and issued a warning and two fines costing $750 in total, Fischer told The Chronicle.
In-N-Out and Contra Costa County didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the Pleasant Hill incident. In-N-Out also didn't respond to the Chronicle.
Three other In-N-Out locations in Contra Costa County haven't received violation notices, Fischer told The Chronicle.
San Francisco county also requires proof of vaccination for institutions offering indoor dining under the city's Safer Return Together health order. Unlike in Contra Costa County, restaurants that don't comply with the order can be shut down by the Department of Public Health, per its website.
In-N-Out's Fisherman's Wharf location has reopened but without indoor dining, a company spokesperson told Insider.
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