Actually, yes, I CAN be barefoot in here.

3 Reasons why barring Barefooters from a place of business due to Liability issues is a Dumb Idea
(Or 4 reasons, if you're in California)

1. A liability lawsuit must establish 4 proofs to be successful.  The first is "Duty of Care."  If I choose to walk into your place of business barefoot and I step on glass, the duty of care falls to me.  So the liability suit fails.
2. If you forced me to remove my shoes (like maybe at a Karate Dojo), and I stepped on glass, then the duty of care could fall to you.  If the other 3 proofs were made in my favor, you the business owner could be liable for UP TO half of my medical expenses.  Have you ever stepped on glass?  How much medical expenses were accrued?  Nothing.  Pluck the glass, disinfect and put on a band-aid.  So even if you lost this liability suit, you could probably pay the damages out of the tip jar.
3. In the entire history of US Law, the number of times a patron has sued a business because they stepped on glass with their bare feet: 3 times.  And yet businesses are willing to alienate barefooters because of 3 lawsuits.
4. If you prohibit bare feet due to liability concerns, yet you permit far more dangerous footwear conditions like high heels and flip-flops, you are practicing Arbitrary Discrimination.  In California, arbitrary discrimination is a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.  While the potential damages of the liability suit you seek to avoid would likely be relatively small and would only happen in the unlikely event that a barefooter actually stepped on glass, the damages of a discrimination lawsuit could be much higher, and all that would take is a litigious barefooter* being asked to leave your restaurant.

*In all fairness, the term "litigious barefooter" is deceptive, because most of us aren't interested waging lawsuits, we just want to experience the world around us through the soles of our feet, and seek to have our rights respected.

SKIP

SKIP

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

4 Reasons why barring Bare feet due to Liability issues is a dumb idea

1. A liability lawsuit must establish 4 proofs to be successful.  The first is "Duty of Care."  If I choose to walk into your place of business barefoot and I step on glass, the duty of care falls to me.  So the liability suit fails
2. If you forced me to remove my shoes (like maybe at a Karate Dojo), and I stepped on glass, then the duty of care would fall to you.  If the other 3 proofs were made in my favor, you the business owner could be liable for UP TO half of my medical expenses.  Have you ever stepped on glass?  How much medical expenses were accrued?  Nothing.  Pluck the glass, disinfect and put on a band-aid.  You can afford half of that out of the tip jar.
3. In the entire history of US Law, the number of times a patron has sued a business because they stepped on glass with their bare feet: 3 times.
4. If you prohibit bare feet due to liability concerns, yet you permit far more dangerous footwear conditions like high heels and flip-flops, you are practicing Arbitrary Discrimination.  In California, arbitrary discrimination is a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.  While the potential damages of the liability suit you seek to avoid would likely be relatively small and would only happen in the unlikely event that a barefooter actually stepped on glass, the damages of a discrimination lawsuit could be much higher, and all that would take is a litigious barefooter* being asked to leave your restaurant.

*In all fairness, the term "litigious barefooter" is deceptive, because most of us aren't interested waging lawsuits, we just want to experience the world around us through the soles of our feet, and seek to have our rights respected.