Mandatory mask policies aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 have made workers more vulnerable to potential assaults by customers who view these policies as an infringement of their rights, experts say.

“This is really a supercharged issue. It appears now that the issue of mask policies has just become deeply personal,” said Andre Simons, Washington-based director of crisis and security consulting at global risk consulting firm Control Risks Ltd., of the surge in attacks on workers in recent months.

While some individuals and workers may consider patrons’ refusing to mask up as threats to the safety and health of themselves and their families, others refuse to wear masks because they see the COVID-19 mandates as an “existential threat to their personal liberties,” he said.

“That’s why we’re seeing these conflicts erupt, and why there is potential for them to continue here in the next several weeks and months,” Mr. Simons said.

Dozens of assaults — and a few deaths — have occurred in public places over mask-wearing throughout the U.S. Workers have also received threats and have been intentionally coughed on by customers for pointing out mask policies.

In May, a Family Dollar store worker in Michigan was shot and killed after he requested a customer and her child wear masks. In early July, an auto body worker in New Mexico shot and killed a man who allegedly had tried to run him over after being asked to wear a mask, and a grocery security worker in California was charged with murder for shooting a customer he fought with for violating the store’s mask policy.

Over the last several days, media outlets have reported several assaults over mask-wearing. On Friday a customer punched a barista in Los Angeles purportedly over the coffee shop’s mask policy, and on Sunday a man who was asked to wear a mask at a New Orleans convenience store shot at the workers before fleeing.

Some of the reasons for this backlash over masks are cultural and some may be due to changes in mask policies from the beginning of the pandemic, said Deborah Roy, Falmouth, Maine-based president of SafeTech Consultants Inc. and president-elect of the American Society of Safety Professionals.

“In the U.S., we don’t have a culture of mask-wearing for public health reasons, whereas in other countries it’s much more common,” she said. “I think the initial guidance of not wearing masks in the U.S. confused people, and it made it more difficult later on to recommend cloth face coverings.” The initial recommendation on masks had more to do with the available supply than safety, she said.

Multiple retailers have publicly released statements asking customers to wear face coverings in their stores, but a few — including Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS Health — said they will not require employees to enforce the mask mandates over concerns for their safety.

“To be clear, we’re not asking our store employees to play the role of enforcer,” said Jon Roberts, CVS Health’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, in a statement. “What we are asking is that customers help protect themselves and those around them by listening to the experts and heeding the call to wear a face covering.”

Companies can help reduce customers’ mask-related frustration by clearly stating their mask policies and visually reinforcing those policies at entrances, Mr. Simons said. “Confusion can also lead to conflict … and can naturally lead to flare-ups between customers and employees,” he said.

“Companies really have to be more upfront about the message,” Ms. Roy said. “If someone doesn’t want to wear a mask, you want to have a positive option for those individuals as opposed to a negative message.”

For instance, companies can offer free disposable masks to customers without them or offer customers curbside pickup by providing a handout with information on how to place their order from their vehicle or home if they choose, she said. 

The more signage a company has and the more protective equipment they make available to customers, such as disposable masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, “the less likelihood of having that negative interaction with a customer,” Ms. Roy said.

On Friday, California released a “playbook” for employers that suggests employees “avoid approaching coworkers or members of the public who are not wearing a face covering for the purpose of attempting to enforce any face-covering recommendation or requirement.” It also recommends employers have in place a “method for calling in support from security or law enforcement if needed.”

“Planning and preparing for what could potentially become a hostile situation will go a long way toward protecting both employees and customers,” said John Dony, Itasca, Illinois-based director of the Campbell Institute at the National Safety Council.

But regardless of the steps taken, confrontation can occur, and employees need to know what to do if faced with aggressive or hostile customers, Mr. Simons said.

“If they feel threatened or unsafe, the best policy is to defer to onsite security or law enforcement personnel,” he said. “If there’s not that immediate threat to safety, I think retail employees could really benefit from knowing and using de-escalation skills.”

One of the first things to remember, he said, is not to tell a customer to calm down.

“It’s usually seen as a directive by the hostile person,” he said. Rather, employees should make sure they’re calm and can remain that way during the conversation and speak to the angry customer with a calm voice in a soothing tone.

“Rather than minimizing the issue … demonstrate empathy and understanding,” Mr. Simons said. For instance, he suggests employees state that they understand how important the mask issue is to the customer and offer a face covering if the individual showed up at the store without the intention of defying any policies.

If the customer continues to engage, the employee should actively listen to the customer, summarize back to them what has contributed to their decision not to wear a mask and express their understanding of the customer’s frustration and anger at the policy and situation.

“What we’re trying to work to avoid here is having what is potentially a flashpoint of conflict turn into a broader moment of violence,” he said.

If a customer is in an establishment and refusing to wear a mask, a possible approach is to do what many stores do from a loss-prevention standpoint by reporting, but not engaging, shoplifters.

“Depending on the culture of the organization, that may be appropriate,” Ms. Roy said. “And particularly if it’s a small mom and pop kind of store that only has one or two people in the building, that may be a safer approach.”

More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.