Eight gyms slapped with hefty fines for violating COVID-19 restrictions in Washington
Eight Washington gyms face hefty fines from the state’s Department of Labor and Industries after they potentially exposed employees to the coronavirus during the governor’s Safe Start program, one of them for a second time, the agency reported.
The fines add up to more than $77,000, according to a news release from the L&I department. All of the gyms are in Eastern Washington and most of them are Anytime Fitness franchises, L&I said.
This is the second time in a month that Anytime Fitness Selah has been cited or fined for violating the state’s coronavirus restrictions, L&I reported. That location is operated by Bradshaw Development Inc., as well as two other franchises operating in Union Gap and Yakima.
Washington gym defied state order and reopened early. Then came a nearly $10,000 fine
Inspectors found all three Bradshaw-operated Anytime Fitness franchises opened in violation of the Safe Start program on July 15, the agency says. The three fines add up to $28,917, on top of the Selah location’s earlier fine of $9,639 from June, according to L&I.
Fit City NW LLC was also cited for operating Anytime Fitness franchises in Moxee, Wapato, Toppenish and Granger on July 14, L&I said. Those fines added up to $38,556.
“These employers are putting their employees at unnecessary health risk by remaining open,” said Anne Soiza, assistant director in charge of L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). “The Safe Start order is in place to minimize the unnecessary spread of this deadly disease in our communities.”
L&I also fined Double Down CrossFit Co-CrossFit Reformation $9,639 for opening Double Down CrossFit in Yakima on June 24, which the company is appealing.
Bradshaw Development is also appealing their June citation, L&I said.
L&I received multiple complaints about the gyms, leading the agency to send a warning to comply and a representative to visit the sites in person. The violations are “willful general,” which means the operators knew about the safety requirements and chose not to comply, L&I said.
The gyms are in Yakima County, one of the state’s most active spots for COVID-19, according to L&I. The county is in Phase 1 or modified Phase 1, the most restrictive category of the state’s four-phase plan, when L&I inspected the facilities.
Gyms are not allowed to operate under Phase 1, according to L&I. Yakima County has 10,671 confirmed coronavirus cases and 223 as of Aug. 8, the New York Times reported.
Washington state has 61,958 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,706 deaths as of Aug. 8, according to the Times.
