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Oregon OSHA inspectors blocked, threatened
Several people, including one carrying a firearm, recently blocked the entrance of a Florence, Oregon, restaurant and threatened Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance officers investigating violations of the stateâs COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS), according to the agency.
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However, agency investigators completed a phone inspection and fined The New Blue Hen $17,800 for willfully continuing to potentially expose workers to COVID-19 despite knowing it was violating a public health order limiting the capacity for indoor dining to zero in an âextreme riskâ county.
The owner of The New Blue Hen, which does business as Little Brown Hen in Florence, allowed indoor dining when it was prohibited, according to Oregon OSHA.
Credit Lasse Bervquist / Unsplash
Oregon OSHA says operators of The Little Brown Hen willfully violated a public health order while Lane County was listed at “Extreme” risk.
Spokesperson Aaron Corvin says when two OSHA regulators attempted an inspection on January 4th, they were blocked by a group of people, including one carrying a firearm.
“Traditionally this has not been an issue but given the pandemic and certainly certain extremists groups encouraging such things, this is unprecedented but it is not surprising in this current context, Corvin told KLCC. We’ve had at least a couple other cases where you’ve either had protests or at least one person armed, and threats to state regulators and blocking access to the establishment.”