The Baker administration has hit more than 60 businesses with cease-and-desist orders in recent weeks for allegedly violating restrictions related to Covid-19, including big-name retailers like Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., Nordstrom Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc.
In most instances, the firms had failed to close their brick-and-mortar locations even though they were not performing what the state considers to be essential services, according to the orders. The Boston Business Journal obtained the documents from the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards, the state office that issues them, through a public records request.
A handful of the orders were related to perceived shortcomings in the ways businesses were protecting employees and customers from the virus.
