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Oregon OSHA recently fined Lowe’s Companies Inc. more than $35,000 for failing to protect workers at two stores from the COVID-19 virus.

The Lowe’s stores in Albany (on Southeast Ninth Avenue) and Redmond (on Southwest Canal Boulevard) were cited for potentially exposing employees to the coronavirus disease by allowing customers inside to not wear any form of mask or face covering, according to Oregon OHSA.

The inspections determined that supervisors at the stores were 鈥渇ully aware鈥� of the requirement to ensure customers use facial coverings and 鈥測et intentionally decided against carrying out their responsibilities,鈥� the agency stated.

鈥淚t is not enough to leave the protection of employees in the hands of cooperative customers,鈥� stated Michael Wood, administrator for Oregon OSHA. 鈥淎s most employers recognize, they must take appropriate steps to ensure that the rules in place are actually followed. When an employer is not prepared to take such steps, we can and will use our enforcement tools to address the issue.鈥�

After both stores received multiple complaints, an inspection occurred and recorded three violations: a $17,500 penalty for each store for disregarding the Oregon Health Authority requirement to ensure customers inside the buildings wear facial coverings and a $600 fine for the Redmond store because it did not develop and implement both a risk assessment to identify potential employee exposure to the virus and an infection control plan.