Business Roundtable Welcomes Mask Mandate for Federal Employees, on Federal Lands

Washington – Business Roundtable CEO COVID-19 Task Force Chair Rich Lesser, Chief Executive Officer of Boston Consulting Group, today issued the following statement on behalf of Business Roundtable in response to the Biden Administration’s executive action mandating face coverings for federal employees and on federal lands:

"As we said in July of last year, one of the most effective things Americans can do to protect public health and the U.S. economy is to wear face coverings in public settings. Business Roundtable applauds the Biden Administration’s mandate for face coverings in federal buildings and on federal lands, and we encourage companies and individuals to adopt this practice as well to protect their families, colleagues and community members. Even as more Americans are able to be vaccinated, mask-wearing and other public health measures remain critical to saving lives and livelihoods.”

Business Roundtable began calling for consistent federal and state guidelines on safety measures, including face coverings, in April of 2020, and called for mandatory face coverings in July of the same year. Business Roundtable also launched a series of COVID-19 safety PSA ads as part of a public education campaign to further encourage the use of face coverings to address the upward trend of COVID-19 cases in several states.