Jackson, Michigan Burger King Under Investigation For Anti-Mask, Anti-Vaxx Signage
While the Delta Variant causes a spike in COVID-19 cases across Michigan, prompting the return of masks and more of a push for vaccinations, some businesses are on board while others are choosing to vocalize their disagreement.
That's what happened at a Jackson Burger King location and now they are being investigated by Burger King corporate.
COVID-19 in Jackson
According to MLive, in Jackson County the COVID-19 case rate is a little over 66 per 100,000 residents. This makes the county one of the 24 in Michigan that CDC data (as of August 4th) shows a "substantial COVID-19 transmission rate."
Looking at vaccine tracker data for Jackson County, about 44% of residents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and almost 48% at least have one dose as of Saturday, August 7th.
Burger King and COVID-19
MLive reports that Burger King's current policy states all team members wear masks, regardless of their vaccination status, in restaurants that the CDC has marked as being in areas where there is either substantial or high transmission, meaning areas like Jackson.
Of course, like many restaurants around the state and the country as a whole, many Burger King locations are hiring, including their location on East Michigan Avenue in Jackson.
Recently, though, that particular franchise has found themselves in some hot...oil with Burger King's corporate offices after changing their sign in front of the building from messaging about positions open to something a bit more political.
What The Sign Said
Originally, the sign read "Open interviews Monday 3 PM" that is, until it was changed to say, "Honk if you are against forced mask & forced jab" when MLive says it was spotted on Thursday, August 5th.
At the moment, MLive says they have been unable to receive a comment on the situation from the restaurant's manager but, a statement was put out by a corporate Burger King spokesperson.
"We’ve been in communication with the franchisee who is further investigating this incident,” MLive quotes from the statement. “Protecting the health and safety of team members and guests has been our top priority since the beginning of the pandemic.”
To be clear, Burger King is still hiring, and they are still requiring team members to mask up. We will have to see how the rest of the situation wraps up, though, for this location.
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