Pinched by shutdown orders, Hobby Lobby closes stores

The threat of the coronavirus pandemic has forced Hobby Lobby to close its stores until further notice, the arts and craft retail chain said Friday.

The Oklahoma City-based company said in a statement that it was furloughing all its store employees and many of its corporate and distribution workers.

Many state and local governments have issued orders to close all nonessential businesses to curb the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Hobby Lobby officials initially resisted efforts to close their stores, saying that the sale of fabric was essential. A team enforcing a shelter-in-place order in Denver issued citations to Hobby Lobby stores. On Thursday, Texas deputies in Dallas County served Hobby Lobby with a cease-anddesist order. The county had ordered all nonessential businesses to close.

“It does not appear that Hobby Lobby meets the criteria in the order,” County Judge Clay Jenkins, Dallas County’s top governing official, said in the letter to Hobby Lobby general counsel Peter Dobelbower. “Our county is facing unprecedented challenges now, and we want to ensure you are aware of the obligations placed on you.”

In its statement, Hobby Lobby said it was ending emergency leave pay and suspending use of paid time off and vacation benefits so that workers could apply for emergency federal income protection benefits. It will continue medical, dental, life and long-term disability benefits for furloughed workers through at least May 1.