Spokane Valley coffee shop fined $126,000 for COVID-19 violations in first three months of 2021; Sacred Heart among businesses cited

OLYMPIA – cafes, construction companies, bars, casinos, long-term care facilities, a hospital.

During the COVID-19 state of emergency, some companies across Spokane struggled to follow guidelines.

Some chose to stay open despite regulations because they feared losing business. Others failed to offer employees adequate social distancing for employees or signs for wearing masks.

In the first week of May, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) fined $ 7.3 million on companies that violated COVID-19 guidelines or mask mandates. The State Liquor and Cannabis Board received 11,836 complaints about bars refusing to follow guidelines.

From January to March of this year alone, 25 Spokane companies received L&I quotes totaling nearly $ 174,000. The county had the second highest number of companies named during that period after King County, which cited 26 companies. Pierce County finished third, citing 19th.

“Spokane is clearly just a small slice,” said L&I spokesman Tim Church.

The Spokane companies with the highest number of fines during this period are:

  • Cole’s Coffee Shop in Spokane Valley that received more than $ 126,000 in fines
  • Huntwood Industries, a cabinet maker in Liberty Lake, was fined $ 6,000
  • Fairwood Retirement Services, which received fines of $ 4,800

Neither of them returned the Spokesman Review’s request for comment.

Some of the companies may have appealed their quotes, which could take a long time to resolve, Church said.

For the entire state of emergency, 15 Spokane bars have been examined for a COVID-19-related complaint, according to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. Most received a warning, but five received fines starting at $ 500 or a five-day ban.

The Liquor and Cannabis Board only deals with companies such as bars or restaurants that have a liquor license.

Violations include not having a sign on the door signaling customers to wear a mask and keeping food open indoors during a time when it was not allowed or at very low capacity said Church. They were fined day by day for a restaurant or gym that stayed open when it shouldn’t have been.

Spokane was in phase 1 of reopening through mid-February, which left the county relatively closed. The county then moved to Phase 2, where indoor eating was still limited to 25%.

Violations are divided into two categories: general or serious. Both types can be viewed as willful or unintentional, which means that the company disregards known rules or has no idea what the rules are at all.

There is a fee associated with a serious violation, and if it is willful the fine will increase.

“The fines are increasing exponentially,” Church said.

Much of the $ 7.3 million statewide fines for L&I came from some companies that stayed open or ignored worker safety. Gebbers Farm Operations in Brewster was fined more than $ 2 million in December after workers complained about COVID-19 conditions. Stuffy’s II restaurant in Longview has faced nearly $ 1 million in quotes. Maple Valley Fitness faces fines of more than $ 412,000, according to Church.

In Spokane County, Cole’s Coffee Shop in the Spokane Valley has the highest number of fines.

The cafe had three inspections in February, each of which resulted in multiple COVID-19 violations. The store had 14 serious COVID-19 violations with fines totaling more than $ 126,000.

According to one of the quotes, the cafe was open for business and served indoor food, even though state emergency ordinances prohibited companies from serving indoor food at the time.

“COVID-19 continues to represent a significant health risk that continues to deteriorate in Washington State and, in violation of the governor’s instructions, unnecessarily endangers operations and creates a significant likelihood of death or serious damage.” it in the quote.

L&I said information about where the quotes are in the potential appeal process is not immediately available.

Either a member of the public or an employee can file COVID-19 complaints with L&I on the state’s coronavirus response website. L&I oversees both publicly accessible businesses such as a grocery store and non-publicly accessible businesses such as construction or manufacturing companies.

Many of the big quotes are likely to be on appeal, which could take time, Church said. Smaller fines are likely to be paid sooner as the appeal may cost more than paying the fine.

The Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center was fined $ 4,200 this year in March for failing to ensure that “their staff practiced social distancing at nursing stations, reporting rooms, and break rooms.”

A statement from Providence Health Care said several areas of the hospital require additional social distancing during employee breaks: “Providence is partnering with Labor & Industries, we have addressed the allegation and appealed the violation. This process is ongoing. “

When L&I visits a company, inspectors come unannounced, Church said.

Ernie Williams, general manager of Lilac Lanes and Casino, said it was frustrating that they didn’t receive any warning or time to fix their issues before they were fined.

The bowling alley and casino in Spokane were fined $ 3,600.

Williams said the quote claimed they didn’t have enough social distancing signage or masks, and some customers weren’t wearing masks properly.

Williams said they fixed everything right away.

They appealed the fines, bringing them to $ 2,700, Williams said. They have since paid the fine that added to the million dollar debt they have incurred since the pandemic began.

He said it was “totally unfair” that they did not receive a warning. He said they have always protected their employees and customers.

“We have never put our employees at risk,” he said. “It was frustrating.”

Other companies spearheaded by L&I in Spokane include Super 1 Foods, which received a $ 2,700 fine for failing to keep employees socially distant or wearing a mask. Super 1 Foods did not respond to a comment at press time.

Most of the other companies named this year are construction or manufacturing companies in Spokane.

Laurel Demkovich’s coverage for The Spokesman Review is funded in part by Report for America and members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information, please contact the senior editor of our newspaper.