‘Dawn of danger:’ Orange County mayor signs order to fine companies for COVID-19 violations

Orange County, Florida – Saying it’s time to hold ‘bad actors’ accountable, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings on Friday signed an emergency decree that will allow fines to be imposed on local businesses that repeatedly ignore COVID-19 security measures.

A draft decree was released Thursday night to the media but Demings formalized it on Friday. At a press conference this afternoon, he explained why he chose to take punitive action against business owners.

[TRENDING: Businesses could face COVID-19 fines | Biden to call for 100 days of mask-wearing | Video: High school football player attacks ref]

“Our goal is simple: it’s to target the few bad actors. I call them bad actors because they are the ones who act like they care about the personal safety of others, when in fact, they only care about their bottom line. They pass the profit on to people. Companies that are the right players and comply with this order don’t have to worry about penalties, ”said Demings.

In recent weeks, he had said he had the power to financially punish business owners who repeatedly violate guidelines set out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but he was hesitant to do so until now.

When questioned, the mayor said there was no real straw that influenced his decision and he said it was more about keeping the COVID-19 situation under control locally. He cited the fact that the coronavirus compliance strike teams have had to visit several companies several times that appear unwilling to take safety measures, that we do not yet know the impact of the Thanksgiving holiday and that we are are approaching colder months and a busy travel season.

“(My advisers) have all told me that we are on the verge of danger for the future. I don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we are exceeding hospital capacity when we could have acted early to prevent that from happening. So I think timing is everything, ”Demings said, adding that he wanted to avoid another surge in hospitalizations and new infections.

The ordinance requires all businesses in Orange County – including towns and unincorporated areas – to require masks, put up social distancing markers, and put up plexiglass or barriers.

According to the decree, a fine issued by law enforcement or code enforcement will not exceed $ 500. If the fine is imposed by a special magistrate, this number increases to $ 1,000 per day for a first offense and $ 5,000 per day for subsequent offenses.

For the most serious violations deemed “irreparable or irreversible in nature”, the amount could reach $ 15,000 per violation.

Demings said code enforcement officers and law enforcement officers would try to be consistent in how they decide which companies are fined.

“Generally speaking, we’ll be visiting a company to get compliance. We want to be proactive in helping our businesses stay open. So we’re going to give them instructions on what they can do to comply with the decree, to comply with these CDC guidelines. We will come back and re-inspect the businesses that we initially found non-compliant. We have to look at the totality of the circumstances at this time. If the staff believe the company has attempted to comply, we’re not here to be really punitive at this point, we want compliance, voluntary compliance. It is likely that if this staff member has to re-enter for the third time and is still not compliant, they will likely consider a fine of $ 500 or not for that initial fine, ”the mayor said.

He reminded that companies that play by the rules and take precautions need not worry. His office plans to make public establishments that are facing fines.

Demings also said he was not concerned that his executive order could potentially conflict with the Governor’s Order in Council that prohibits local governments from limiting the capacity of restaurants or fining individuals for violating the rules. warrants masks or similar rules. He said he had not been in communication with Governor Ron DeSantis about the new measure.

“I really don’t feel like I have to go to the governor to ask permission to be the mayor of Orange County,” Demings said.

You can read the order, which goes into effect Sunday at 12:01 am, in full below.