Under a new state "contact tracing" mandate imposed on Michigan businesses, firms have no duty to verify that the contact information they must collect from patrons is correct, and are not required to deny entry to customers who refuse to cooperate.

That’s what a "Frequently Asked Questions" post on a state website says about the mandate imposed by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, effective Nov. 2.

The state "encourages" establishments to deny entry to individuals who refuse to provide their name and contact information. Businesses are also asked to collect information from everyone at a table, including parental information for minors. But the FAQ document says it is acceptable to collect contact information just from the head of the household.

The order does not affect just restaurants and bars. According to the FAQ the mandate extends to: "Barbering, cosmetology services, body art services (including tattooing and body piercing), tanning services, massage services, or similar personal care services; Recreational sports and exercise facilities, and entertainment facilities (except for outdoor, non-ticketed events), including arenas, cinemas, concert halls, performance venues, sporting venues, stadiums and theaters, as well as places of public amusement, such as amusement parks, arcades, and bingo halls; all businesses or operations that provide in-home services, including cleaners, repair persons, painters; all dine-in food service establishments, including bars and restaurants."

In May, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee required businesses to obtain contact information from their customers so that state officials could conduct contact tracing should COVID-19 outbreaks develop.

The ACLU of Washington protested the measure, and Inslee quickly retracted the mandate.

“We have serious concerns with any plan that would require people to disclose their names and/or contact information and whereabouts without strict controls on the storage and accessibility of such information,” the ACLU of Washington state wrote. “Normally, judicial oversight or, at a minimum, informed consent would be required to allow others to access and use personally identifying information and related data about travel and association with others. Business logs cannot be susceptible to disclosure beyond the tightly limited purposes of contact tracing. Without appropriate safeguards, contact information can be disclosed to immigration agents, law enforcement, advertising companies, identity thieves, stalkers, and harassers. If providing contact information is mandatory, rather than voluntary, this may have the effect of excluding people from public accommodations for fear of nonconsensual data sharing and other forms of surveillance abuses.”

Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a similar requirement for state businesses, effective Nov. 2.