A mask mandate for certain indoor locations has been at least temporarily re-implemented at Rutgers University after faculty unions objected to the university lifting it.
Rutgers’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Antonio Calcado, said in a statement to the university community on Monday that a representative of the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission reinstated the mandate in libraries after three faculty unions objected to the requirement being dropped.
The order restoring the mandate also allows faculty members to require masks in indoor teaching spaces.
The unions filed their objections on Friday after Rutgers announced that face coverings would no longer be required in most indoor spaces.
Calcado emphasized in his message that the university’s decision to lift the mask mandate is in line with current state and federal practices and “rooted in science and data.”
He said the mandate will remain in place until the commission makes a final decision after the university and unions submit their positions.
“The university is confident that its September 26 announcement was consistent with all applicable state and federal laws,” Calcado said.
