@Groth said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
@GreenFlashlight said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
@Ganymede said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
@GreenFlashlight said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
I suspect it's less about your safety than their fear of legal liability.
What liability?
If you get sick on their premises, there's at least an argument to be made that your illness is their responsibility for not disinfecting the facility; and if they get sued, I can't imagine their business owner insurance covers pandemics.
People can sue over whatever you want, but I doubt you'll get any court to believe that an apartment complex owner is negligent for not managing to keep a laundry room disinfected during a pandemic.Usually you just have to show you're following best practices and best practices are going to be to ensure that there's posted rules about hygiene habits. For instance it's probably a very good idea to wash your hands before and after you do laundry in a public space.
You might not be likely to win a case like that, but it doesn't mean a landlord (or any establishment) wants to risk spending the money to defend the lawsuit(s) you receive, especially if multiple residents all get sick. As more people are out of work and markets dropping, there will be more and more people who are willing to go to extreme lengths to make money - even if it is just nuisance lawsuits to try to collect a quick, low settlement.
Does anyone really believe all the business closures that happened before it was mandatory were done out of an abundance of caution and concern for people at their own expense? I don't. I think places like Disney found it was financially risky to continue operations. Whether it was lawsuits, or expenses, or just bad press for possibly being an epicenter of an outbreak, I don't think their decisions were based primarily on the health and welfare of people because they just care so damn much.