I have seen many anti-masker videos on Youtube wanting to enter a store and stating they have a medical condition and stating they do not have to tell or prove their medical condition according to the ADA and they are right.
Are they?
Fact check: ADA does not provide blanket exemption from face mask requirements
The claim: The Americans with Disabilities Act exempts people from face mask requirements imposed by governments and retailers
Face mask use has been a source of confusion and contention amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As new outbreaks of the coronavirus grow across the country, some anti-mask activists have claimed that policies mandating mask-wearing infringe on disability rights.
“According to ADA Mask Not Required Anywhere in America!” reads one flyer shared hundreds of times on Facebook.
The graphic cites the Americans with Disabilities Act’s requirement for “reasonable accommodation to anyone who cannot wear a mask due a medical condition,” as explanation for why mask wearing is optional under the law.
Similar images and claims have been circulating online for weeks. Images of laminated “Face Mask Exempt Cards” from the fictitious “Freedom to Breath Agency” went viral after some attempted to use the cards to enter stores across the country.
...
The Americans with Disabilities Act does require disabled people to be “reasonably accommodated” when working with employers, public businesses and the government. These accommodations, though, do not allow for simple exemptions from mask-wearing without replacing it with another measure in line with public health requirements.
Government policy on the ADA and COVID-19
“The ADA does not provide a blanket exemption to people with disabilities from complying with legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operations,” the Department of Justice Department, which helps enforce the ADA, said in a June 30 press release.
The denunciation follows up on an earlier statement in which the agency said it had “been made aware of postings or flyers on the internet regarding the ADA and the use of face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of which include the Department of Justice’s seal.”
Fact check:Masks are effective against COVID-19; OSHA doesn't say they offer no protection
“These postings were not issued by the Department and are not endorsed by the Department,” the agency emphasized.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which helps enforce disability rights in employment, has issued guidelines clarifying how businesses can follow public health measures while still accommodating disabled employees.
Both the DOJ and EEOC have emphasized that enforcement of the ADA will continue amid the pandemic, but also underscore the ADA’s caveat that a disabled person’s request cannot cause “undue hardship” to the employer or fundamentally change the overall operation.