SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — In June, John Postema, the owner of Flower World in Maltby, banned employees from wearing masks.
He was under investigation by Washington state's Department Labor and Industries (L&I) and now faces a $4,200 fine.
"In this case, the complaints that we received were that employees were being told they could not wear masks. And I think that's what stood out," said Tim Church, the public affairs manager for L&I.
Church said fines for violations of Gov. Jay Inslee's COVID-19 mandates come from a variety of factors and all businesses aren't fined the same.
It all starts with a complaint. L&I handles complaints from businesses that don't need a specific license, such as a flower shop. Businesses such as a barber shop are investigated by the Department of Licencing. Bars and restaurants are investigated by the Liquor and Cannabis Board.
After the complaints are investigated and validated, the size of the business, the number of employees, and types of violations are factored in.
Labor & Industries has a tiered system for violations and fines: general, serious, and willfully serious. They rank from no penalty to financial fines.
According to L&I, Flower World is in "serious" violation. Church said it is the lack of social distancing - not doing temperature checks and the banning of masks - that earned the fine.
"This was a situation that the employees were ... told that they should not wear masks on the job. And that was concerning," he said.
Businesses have up to 15 days to appeal the fines.
Postema, the owner of Flower World, said that's exactly what he's going to do.
Postema sent KING 5 a 98-page appeal of the L&I violations. He defends that he provided a safe and healthy workplace and followed federal OSHA and state guidelines, writing "L&I does not have the legal authority to create rules out of thin air."
Church said that as of this writing, Postema had not reached out to L&I about an appeal.
He said as of the most recent inspection, Flower World has begun following state mandates.