Tri-Cities tanning salon is fighting $9,600 fine for violating COVID closure

A Kennewick tanning salon has recently been fined $9,639 for operating in late June in violation of Washington state Safe Start orders.

Golden Palm Tanning at 8508 W. Gage Blvd. , which is owned by Tri-Cities Tan, plans to appeal.

It has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise $20,000 to pay attorney costs.

The Washington state Department of Labor and Industries issued the fine and citation for potentially exposing employees to the coronavirus.

The salon is accused of serving customers when Benton County was still in Phase 1, when only essential businesses could operate.

As of July 3 under modified Phase 1, tanning salons in Benton and Franklin counties have been allowed to partially open, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

There have been no known outbreaks in the Tri-Cities area associated with tanning salons, it said.

Golden Palm Tanning said on its online fundraising page that it believes the citation should not have been issued because L&I does not list tanning salons as a business required to close under Phase 1.

The state listed “personal services” as businesses that could not operate and gave examples of professionals that could not work, including cosmetologists, hairstylists, barbers, estheticians, tattoo artists and nail salon workers.

“We do not have direct contact without customers like hair and nail salons do,” the fundraising site said.

It also said that it the tanning salon sells products classified as essential, such as nutritional products, coffee and CBD from cannabis plants. Its clients with conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and arthritis benefit from tanning, red light therapy and CBD, it said.

The inspection that led to the fine was done just four days before tanning salons were allowed to open in Benton County, it said.

It also said that the cease-and-desist order was sent to the former owners of the business and addressed the previous business. The order was not forwarded to the current owners until after the inspection, it said.

Other citations, fines

Golden Palm Tanning was cited by the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries along with seven fitness centers in Yakima County owned either by Bradshaw Development or Fit City NW.

The total fines for opening in violation of state orders totaled nearly $87,000.

One of the fitness centers, Anytime Fitness Selah, was fined in both June and July. The other fitness centers were Anytime Fitness franchises in Union Gap, Yakima, Moxee, Wapato, Toppenish and Granger.

L&I said the citations were the result of receiving multiple complaints that businesses were operating in violation of Safe Start orders.

Typically a business potentially in violation receives a call from L&I to make sure operators understand the order and why their business should not be operating.

That is followed by a letter and can escalate to an active inspection if the business appears to continue to operate.

Businesses typically have opportunities to learn about allowed activities and to comply with the State Start order before they are cited, said L&I spokesman Tim Church.

L&I continues to investigate reports of businesses reported to be violating COVID-19 pandemic orders that are intended to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Violations can be reported at coronavirus.wa.gov/report-safe-start-violation.

This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 4:25 PM.