When Mayor Eric Garcetti enacted sweeping restrictions on non-essential business activity in mid-March, not every businessowner listened. City Attorney Mike Feuer has filed criminal charges against 73 L.A.-area businesses for flouting “Safer at Home” rules, which act as law under the executive order from the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Of the charged businesses, 34 are located in the Valley. They include 22 tobacco and vape shops, four hair salons, two pet groomers, two gyms, two massage parlors, a beauty supply store and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership. Business Journal attempts to reach the charged businesses were unsuccessful. According to Ivor Pine, deputy director of community engagement and outreach for Feuer’s office, “the 73 businesses were charged criminally after being warned and refusing to close. No one was arrested.” If convicted, Pine said, non-compliant business owners could face penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and up to six months in jail. According to employment lawyer Richard Rosenberg, of Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt in Encino, the county health order is a criminal statute – therefore, failure to comply is a crime. He added the matter of compliance for non-essential businesses is more complex than simply opening and closing when ordered to do so. That’s because L.A. County’s emergency business regulations are based not just on the health order, but also on a series of applicable health protocols. “As a precondition to reopening lawfully, every business must do the things the county health department says must be done,” Rosenberg said. In L.A., those conditions include the maintenance of social distancing and use of facemasks by staff. Rosenberg said businesses that don’t do those things are technically committing crimes and putting themselves at risk of penalty from the City Attorney’s office, though such situations may be more difficult for prosecutors to enforce than illegal openings. Prosecutors won’t be able to try their cases immediately. L.A. County courts are closed at least through June 10, but closures may be extended. Pine said prosecution can begin once the courts reopen. Philip Israels, a criminal defense attorney with Cron Israels & Stark in Los Angeles, said he has never seen or heard of cases like these prior to COVID-19. “This is a first-time situation. There’s this conflict between the right of due process and the right of public health, as well as the First Amendment rights of expression and so forth,” he told the Business Journal. Israels said the decision by prosecutors to not make any arrests could indicate that the charges are more of a slap on the wrist than a serious punishment, but conceded that he’s just speculating and can’t say for sure the City Attorney’s intention. “I suspect, if somebody doesn’t have a record and the situation wasn’t terribly egregious, that they will work out some kind of diversion or deferred entry of justice where they don’t have to get a criminal record for this. … Let’s face it, we’re not talking about someone who is robbing a liquor store. We’re talking about a very unusual situation,” he said.