Lafayette Bakery in Carmel, California has become a local hotspot, known for its bread and sweets. Despite its loyal following, Lafayette may close down because the owners cannot pay the fines that they incurred for the time they did not carry workers’ compensation insurance.
In September 2018, an investigator with California’s Labor Commissioner’s office arrived and told the owners, the Vial family, that they needed to close down immediately and could not reopen until they obtained insurance coverage. From April 2017 to September 2018, their insurance lapsed because the bakery’s accountant did not update a debit card that made the automatic insurance payments.
Not only did they have to re-obtain insurance, Lafayette also received a hefty fine: for every employee, Lafayette had to pay $1,500 or twice what they would have paid in insurance premiums, whichever amount was higher.