Whatcom businesses fined more than $200,000 for pandemic rules violations
Owners of a Lynden restaurant were fined more than $130,000 for violating state laws designed to protect workers during the COVID pandemic, and the business continues to produce complaints, according to records obtained by The Bellingham Herald.
Fines of $130,039 issued to the Fairway Cafe are by far the largest penalties assessed against any one employer in Whatcom County by the state Department of Labor and Industries since the pandemic started in March 2020, according to data from public records requested by The Herald.
“There are some that are willfully defiant and continue to put their employees at risk over and over again,” L&I spokesman Tim Church told The Herald in an interview.
Three more complaints have been filed against the Fairway Cafe, most recently in December 2021, and they are under L&I review, said spokeswoman Dina Lorraine.
L&I investigated 22 total complaints about COVID workplace violations, but in some cases, no citation was issued, according to information provided to The Herald.
Most businesses comply with the rules or fix a violation to avoid being fined, Church said.
Many of the L&I citations were for lack of masking to prevent COVID-19 spread, Lorraine said.
Whatcom violations
In all, 15 Whatcom County businesses were cited for a total of more than $200,000 in workplace safety violations related to the pandemic in 2020-2021, including:
▪ Neil and Rose DeGroot, owners of the Fairway Cafe were cited on two occasions for a total of 12 COVID-related issues last year, including $91,473 for eight violations on Jan. 6, 2021, and $38,566 for four violations on March 11, 2021.
Kris Keene, daughter of Fairway Cafe owner Rose DeGroot, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.
Fines against the Fairway Cafe remain in the appeals process, Lorriane said in an email.
▪ Katz Coffee and Used Books was fined $19,278 on March 10, 2021. Fines against Katz Coffee remain in the appeals process and no new complaints have been received, Lorraine said.
▪ Z Recyclers of Lynden was fined $19,278 on March 10, 2021.
Those fines remain in the appeals process, and one more complaint is being reviewed, Lorraine said.
▪ Summit Trampoline Park of Bellingham was fined $9,639 on Sept. 24, 2020.
“Summit Trampoline paid after a reduction in the penalty during appeal,” Lorraine said. Summit Trampoline paid $500 to settle the violation on Sept. 24, 2021, she said.
But more than 10 more complaints have been filed against Summit Trampoline, Lorraine said.
Officials at the State Emergency Operations Center are discussing the complaints with the business owners ahead of further action, she said.
▪ Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan of Blaine fined $6,000 March 15, 2021.
“Evangelical Church has not been assigned to collections yet. It is still in the early stage of the process,” Lorraine said.
No more complaints have been received about the church, Lorraine said.
Court order
Fines against the Fairway Cafe followed a December 2020 court order to stop in-person dining for violating Gov Jay Inslee’s Safe Start measures aimed at curbing a surge in COVID-19 infections across Washington state.
In-person dining at the Fairway Cafe stopped under threat from a Nov. 24 restraining order in Whatcom County Superior Court.
At the time, Church said the Fairway Cafe’s violations were among the worst in the state.
