Sen. Thom Tillis’ constituents might want to think twice before shaking his hand. The Republican senator from North Carolina said on Monday that he’d support letting restaurants opt out of hand-washing requirements for employees.
At a question-and-answer event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, Tillis used the rather alarming anecdote to illustrate his larger beliefs on government regulation.
The freshman senator said he was at a North Carolina Starbucks in 2010 with a constituent when she challenged his views on allowing businesses to opt out of certain regulations. They were sitting next to the coffee shop’s restroom when an employee emerged.
“She said, for example, don’t you believe that the regulation that requires this gentleman to wash his hands before he serves your food is important, that it should be on the books?” Tillis recalled.
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Tillis replied: “I don’t have any problem with Starbucks if they choose to opt out of this policy as long as they post a sign that says ‘We don’t require our employees to wash their hands after leaving the restroom.’”
Instead, Tillis believes that full disclosure of such lax hygiene policies would be a strong enough deterrent on its own to put the store out of business. “The market would take care of that,” he said.









