Arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby has reportedly re-opened nearly all of its stores in Ohio and Wisconsin, despite orders that non-essential retail businesses close during this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Business Insider, the retailer resumed business on March 30 at locations that had been closed for up to a week.
The West Allis, Wis. Police Department had to visit an open Hobby Lobby store to shut it down on March 30, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The newspaper quoted West Allis Deputy Police Chief Christopher Botsch: “We made contact with the business around 11 a.m. and found that it was open. We took this as an opportunity to educate the business on the specifics of the governor’s order. The business was cooperative and closed without incident.”
The retailer has tried to keep stores in other states, including North Carolina and Colorado, open despite state government orders to close. “They are not exempt,” said Conor Cahill, Press Secretary for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, according to The Denver Post.
Hobby Lobby has come under intense criticism for the company’s determination to keep its stores open despite being a non-essential business, along with its less-than-generous sick leave policies. The company is led by founder and CEO David Green, an evangelical Christian, who has cited prayers by his wife and co-founder Barbara Green as justification to keep the stores open, noting that “God is in control.”
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However, the advocacy group Faithful America has launched an online petition calling on Green to provide Hobby Lobby employees with paid sick leave, according to Religion News Service. According to the Faithful America site, the petition already has gathered more than 16,600 signatures.
At press time Hobby Lobby had not returned a request for comment.
