Washington Residents Have Reported 25,000 Stay-Home Violations

SEATTLE, WA — During his daily news briefing March 30, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a new online form where Washington residents could report businesses violating the state’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order, issued a week earlier to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Within minutes, the first complaint came in, about a construction crew in Bothell installing new siding on a house. Another followed five minutes later, about a car dealership staying open in Vancouver, Wash. By the end of the day, more than 2,100 reports had been made — and they’ve kept rolling in since then.

A total of 25,146 complaints were filed from March 30 through Tuesday, Inslee spokesman Mike Faulk told Patch. Over half have reported nonessential businesses staying open or businesses continuing to do nonessential work. Another 3,400 complained of essential businesses not following social distancing orders; and over 2,100 reported large gatherings of people.

The complaints range from serious allegations to more trivial concerns, according to copies of the complaints that Patch obtained through a public records request.

A funeral home in Seattle lacked enough personal protective equipment for its workers and hosted 30-person services, one complaint alleges. Health facilities in Yakima and King counties kept performing elective surgeries after the state had suspended them, workers reported. Managers at a warehouse in Pierce County waited days to clean the facility after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, according to one complaint.

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Others, meanwhile, complained of strangers’ stray coughs and sneezes, or joggers passing by too closely.

Turning the tables on the governor, several hundred complaints reported Inslee himself, calling him a nonessential employee or demanding that he shelter in place at home. Those complaints were closed without action, records show.

Another 350 complaints reported restaurants staying open for dine-in service. Sam’s Tavern, a burger restaurant with four locations in the Seattle area, was almost one of them: two complaints in late April reported the restaurant was advertising a Cinco De Mayo party on its Instagram page, complete with a Live DJ and food served on the patio (Restaurant managers could not be reached for comment.).

But the issue seemed to resolve itself: the problematic post disappeared, replaced May 5 by a more contrite one.

"We jumped the gun on allowing guests to sit on our patio, so we are holding off on the festivities until we are told it is OK,” the restaurant wrote.

Enforcement is limited

From the start, Inslee expressed hope that the state wouldn’t need to pursue charges against businesses not complying with the directive. Instead, he said, the state would begin by reaching out to the alleged violators, asking them to comply voluntarily. If they refused, their case would be passed on to a state agency, which could issue citations or revoke their licenses.

As a last resort, Inslee said, a case could be referred to the state Attorney General’s office, which could pursue civil or criminal charges.

Sure enough, as of Tuesday, a nail salon in Kitsap County has been the only business to have its license revoked for refusing to comply with the order, Faulk said. The salon, Star Nails in Port Orchard, had 64 complaints filed against it through the end of April, records show. (A phone call to the salon Thursday went unanswered, but an employee told the Kitsap Sun last month that they remained open for business.)

Meanwhile, the state has already closed most of the 15,000 cases that were referred to state agencies for follow-up, as a majority of businesses have complied by closing down or making safety improvements, according to the state.

Number of complaints for different businesses and organizations, through May 5:

• Construction: 5,350
• Restaurant or food service business: 1,468
• Cosmetology, hair salon, barber: 1,194
• Health-related business: 1,027
• Parks: 524
• Bar or other business with a liquor license: 380
• Churches: 260
• Landlord: 146
• Funeral home: 27
• Other: 15,328

Businesses in the “other” category with the most complaints:

• Car wash: 577
• Golf course: 294
• Landscaping: 285
• Retail: 260
• Church: 229
• Car dealership: 208
• Dog grooming: 206
• Pet grooming: 203
• Manufacturing: 180
• Gym: 170
• Grocery store: 159
• Detention center: 140
• Hardware store: 105
• Craft store: 100

Data via Office of Governor Jay Inslee.