Sisters restaurant appeals $17,800 Oregon OSHA fine for allowing inside dining during ‘Extreme Risk’

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Oregon OSHA said Monday it issued citations with penalties totaling $44,600 to four employers in May, including a Sisters restaurant, with all of the cases involving willful violations of rules designed to protect workers from potential exposure to COVID-19.

The citations were issued to two restaurants, a bakery, and a wood products company in Deschutes, Wasco, Linn, and Multnomah counties, respectively. Penalties ranged from $8,900 to $17,800.

Violations included willfully failing to ensure workers and customers wore face coverings indoors, and willfully allowing indoor dining, despite operating in a county that was designated as an “extreme risk” for transmission of COVID-19.

The following employers were cited:

• Obstructed View Incorporated (Cork Cellars Wine and Bistro) – Sisters – willfully chose to allow indoor dining despite a public health order limiting capacity to zero in Deschutes County when it was in the "Extreme Risk" category, in January and early February.
  • Total penalty: $17,800 (citation has been appealed)
• Loretta Birky (Country Bakery) – Halsey – willfully did not ensure face coverings were worn inside the establishment (penalty: $8,900). Also committed a serious violation by not posting the required “COVID-19 Hazards Poster” for workers to see.
  • Total penalty: $9,000 (citation has not been appealed but order is not final)
• Last Stop LLC – The Dalles – willfully chose to allow indoor dining despite a public health order limiting capacity to zero in Wasco County.
  • Total penalty: $8,900 (citation has been appealed)
• Creative Woodworking Northwest Inc. – Portland – willfully did not ensure face coverings were worn inside the establishment.
  • Total penalty: $8,900 (citation has been appealed)

Ongoing refusals to correct violations and come into compliance with workplace health and safety standards can lead to additional higher penalties. Meanwhile, if an Oregon OSHA inspection documents violations while a county is at extreme risk, but the county’s risk level drops before the citation is issued, the citation will still be issued. The change in risk levels may affect how the violation needs to be corrected, but not whether it is cited.

For an overview of the COVID-19-related citations the division has issued since the beginning of the pandemic, visit: Oregon OSHA Citations Identified as Related to COVID-19 .       

In addition to its enforcement activities, Oregon OSHA offers employers and workers free resources that involve no fault, no citations, and no penalties. They include consultation services that provide assistance with safety and health programs, and technical experts who help employers understand requirements.

More workplace guidance and resources regarding COVID-19 are available.

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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state’s workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, visit osha.oregon.gov.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to www.dcbs.oregon.gov.