Dollar Tree once again pivots on mask policy – now requires customers to wear face coverings

• Dollar Tree and its Family Dollar brand are once again requiring customers to wear masks in stores.
• Dollar Tree last reversed its mask mandate in July, even as other major retailers began ordering shoppers to don masks.
• On its website, Dollar Tree said that the newly reinstated policy will allow shoppers and workers to "protect one another."
• "Our focus continues to be on the safety and health of the communities we serve," a Dollar Tree spokesperson told Business Insider.

Dollar-store giant Dollar Tree will now require all customers to don masks in order to shop at its stores. The company's subsidiary chain, Family Dollar, has also adopted the new mandate.

"To best help protect one another, and in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we are requiring all associates, customers, and vendors to wear face coverings when inside our stores," the company said in a statement on its website.

The decision is yet another reversal for the retailer. In July, the chain rolled back its mask requirement, softening its policy language to merely "request" that shoppers wear face coverings. The policy change occurred even as other major retailers began instituting mask requirements.

"This has been a dynamic, evolving situation," a Dollar Tree spokesperson told Business Insider. "Our focus continues to be on the safety and health of the communities we serve."

It is unclear the degree to which Dollar Tree and Family Dollar employees will be expected to enforce the new policy. Since retailers began establishing mask policies, there have been a number of violent incidents against store workers attempting to enforce the rules. In May, a Family Dollar security guard was shot and killed after confronting a maskless customer.

Are you a Dollar Tree or Family Dollar worker? Business Insider wants to hear from you. Email acain@businessinsider.com.