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A Yakima area gym owner was fined $38,556 by the Washington Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) for staying open and operating safely during the pandemic. The gym owner appealed the decision to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA) and won a reversal of the decision.
The appeals board ruled that L&I did not show sufficient evidence that the gym, Anytime Fitness’s employees were at risk of exposure to COVID-19.
In what could be the canary in the coal mine for many businesses, the ruling shows that there are limits to the fines that L&I can assess. L&I’s overly aggressive enforcement of the state mandated lockdowns and arbitrary rule application has created a large amount of confusion in the business community about what is permitted and what is not.