U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., made news on Monday for saying that employees shouldn't be required to wash their hands at work because "the market will take care of that."
The freshman Republican senator made the comments during a talk at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington D.C. He proceeded to explain how he thinks it's a way to eliminate what he believes is excessive government regulation — businesses should be able to opt out of certain rules, he said.
Tillis said that at a recent meal at Starbucks, he was discussing this idea of opting out of the policy of requiring employees to wash hands.
“I said, 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,” Tillis said.
He seemed to miss the irony in his comment that requiring restaurants to post a sign that says “we don’t require our employees to wash their hands after leaving the restroom” would be a regulation, as many in the media have pointed out — including Jon Stewart, during a feature on The Daily Show.
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People have also taken to Twitter to discuss the senator’s comments.
The invisible hand may control the free market -- but it may not be washed, Thom Tillis says http://t.co/ALYppYpsIk pic.twitter.com/7qQGIzVYSL
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 3, 2015
Snoopy's Hot Dogs makes it clear where they stand on bathroom hygiene cc: @ThomTillis #ncpol pic.twitter.com/mDgsTXob2d
— Progress NC Action (@ProgressNow_NC) February 5, 2015
Thom Tillis bravely stands up for the right to make it easier for everyone to get food poisoning http://t.co/mTnm2cNA8B
— Brian Tashman (@briantashman) February 3, 2015
Tillis added that he believed eliminating regulations like these were important because regulations are burdensome on businesses.
“We are one of the most regulated nations in the history of the planet, and I think if we go about it in a common sense way, that that solves a lot of problems, and makes these other big problems we are talking about imminently more easy to solve,” he said.
Despite many jabs on social media, Tillis has stood by his remarks.
In a follow-up interview with the Associated Press, Tillis said, “Sometimes there are regulations that maybe we want to set a direction, but then let those who are regulated decide whether or not it makes sense.”
He added that the decision not to follow the regulation could be costly, but he believed businesses should have the choice to make that decision, and not the government.
state@dailytarheel.com
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