Nanny State

Minnesota Town Cracks Down on Outdoor Advertising

Costing some people with autism their jobs

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To Christian Young and Nengi Clement, it's the best job they've ever had.

For a person living with autism, jobs can be hard to find.

o when the two young men landed part-time employment at a Little Caesars pizza restaurant in Eagan, they quickly learned the value of earning a paycheck. For a few hours a day they were the store's human advertisement.

Initially, they would put on a sandwich board bearing the company's name and wave at passing cars along Diffley Road.

"Just waving at people," Clement said. "I use two hands. One for leaving and the other when they're coming in."

It wasn't long before the store was informed that the business-attracting actions were against city code. Eagan has an ordinance prohibiting off-premise advertising by local businesses