Hobby Lobby changes its mind, closes stores and furloughs most employees

After refusing to close some of its stores despite receiving cease-and-desist letters, Hobby Lobby has now shut them all down and is putting most of its employees on furlough, according to Business Insider.

The company issued a statement on its website Friday afternoon, saying it is closing the stores “after careful consideration” of the “health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 virus.”

The stores were told they were non-essential businesses under local and state guidelines in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“I just want to make it clear to Hobby Lobby and anybody who is foolish enough to follow in their footsteps that in Dallas County (Texas), the government and 99.9 percent of the business community put public health over profits,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Thursday, according to WFAA.

If they do not close, they will receive a $1,000-a-day fine, and store operators could receive up to six months in jail, Jenkins said, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Other arts and craft retailers, such as Jo-Ann Stores and Michaels, also continued to operate in Texas, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Hobby Lobby stores originally closed in Ohio, but they reopened Monday, according to WOSU.

The Ohio stores had signs on their windows claiming they were operating as an essential business “offering PPE mask supplies, educational supplies, office supplies and various components for at-home small businesses,” WOSU reported.

“Now they’re open again — what’s changed?” asked Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “Neither the order, nor the seriousness of the health threat, for sure.”

He said he sent cease-and-desist letters and the Ohio stores complied with his order.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also was forced to step in in his state.

“For the avoidance of doubt, and as you have been previously notified, Hobby Lobby is not a ‘critical business’ and is not otherwise exempt from the (order’s) requirements,” the attorney general’s office wrote.

Hobby Lobby stores in Indiana and Wisconsin were also ordered to close by police or the local health department, USA Today reported.

“All of the craft stores have behaved irresponsibly during this crisis and have only closed their stores when they have been absolutely forced to do so,” Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consult group Global Data, told USA Today.

Hobby Lobby said the stores will now be closed until further notice.

This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Hobby Lobby changes its mind, closes stores and furloughs most employees."