TOPEKA, Kan. — An eastern Kansas county is defending a policy that directs business owners to collect information about their customers.
Attorneys for Linn County argued Thursday in a federal court filing that the rule is an effort to help trace the contacts of infected people during the the coronavirus pandemic. The county’s attorneys said a May 1 order by the health director does not violate constitutional rights against unreasonable searches.
The county’s attorneys were responding to a federal lawsuit filed by a newspaper publisher and restaurant owner arguing that the requirement represents an improper warrantless search of their business records.
