Leaked memo from Hobby Lobby reveals execs told managers to insist the company is 'essential' if law enforcement asks why stores are still open in states with coronavirus-related lockdowns

• In a memo obtained by Business Insider, Hobby Lobby instructed managers in states with mandatory lockdowns on "how to respond and communicate if they are visited by a local authority that asks why we are open."
• Randy Betts, Hobby Lobby's vice president of store operations, wrote in the memo that employees should provide rationale such as that they are selling educational materials and resources for personal protective equipment, "or other reasons that can be identified in an order."
• "Hobby Lobby is fighting that we are an essential store. There is absolutely nothing in Hobby Lobby worth spreading this illness," an employee in North Carolina told Business Insider, speaking anonymously.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Hobby Lobby is insisting on leaving its doors open as confirmed coronavirus cases continue to swell across the US.

In an internal memo sent on March 28 and obtained by Business Insider, Randy Betts, Hobby Lobby's vice president of store operations, provided guidelines to managers on how "to respond and communicate if they are visited by a local authority that asks why we open." He wrote that employees should persuade law enforcement that Hobby Lobby is "essential" became it sells educational materials and resources for home offices, "or other reasons that can be identified in an order."

"There are emergency orders in effect throughout the country," Betts wrote in the memo. "These could be issued by the state Governor, or the Country, or the city, and the federal government. In stores that are open, and there is an emergency order issued where that store is located, the [district manager] needs to guide store management in how to respond and communicate if they are visited by a local authority that asks why we are open."

He continued: "If visited by an authority the most important thing the manager must convey is a respectful tone. If they are told they need to close, it's yes sir, yes ma'am, I will call my boss right now. Once the manager calls ... we will get that manager an approval quickly."

The memo comes after Betts told managers in a separate internal letter, which was also obtained by Business Insider last week, that the company "is going to make every effort to continue working the employees." Later that week, Hobby Lobby executives began slashing jobs and cutting salaries in stores required to close due to state regulations.

Hobby Lobby did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the memo.

'There is nothing in Hobby Lobby worth spreading this illness'

Three Hobby Lobby employees from North Carolina, Ohio, and another state in the Midwest - who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution but whose employment statuses and identities have been confirmed - said they continue to receive contradictory instructions regarding store operations.

The employees expressed frustration at Hobby Lobby's insistence that it is an "essential " company, despite lacking items that are universally accepted as "essential," like food, medicine, and cleaning products. In an email, one employee shared an image of a sign posted to the door of her store that declares: "Operating as an Essential Business."

"Offering PPE Mask supplies, Educational Supplies, Office supplies, and various components for at Home small businesses," the sign states.

An employee at a Hobby Lobby store in the Midwest said she was initially told her store would close after Governor Tim Walz issued a stay-at-home warning on Wednesday. However, after preparing the store for a temporary shutdown that Thursday, she arrived for what she thought would be her last shift on Friday only to be told otherwise.

Three days later, her store is still open for business.

"This has all been so stressful and exhausting," she wrote in an email. "It just seems to me that this totally overrides the intention of the stay at home order. People had two full days to stock up on supplies or home decor or whatever they wanted. I don't want to stay home because I'm too lazy to work. I want to stay home to do my part to stop the spread of the virus."

Likewise, in North Carolina, another Hobby Lobby employee told Business Insider she received a call on Friday shortly after Governor Roy Cooper issued a mandatory lockdown informing her she was still required to come to work.

"Hobby Lobby is fighting that we are an essential store," she wrote in an email. "There is absolutely nothing in Hobby Lobby worth spreading this illness. I'm honestly appalled at this company and the way it doesn't care for its employees and only about making their money."

Read the full memo below:

To: All Store Managers

From: Randy Betts

Red: Talking with Local Authority

Date: March 28, 2020

RVPs,

There are emergency orders in effect throughout the country. These could be issued by the state Governor, or the Country, or the city, and the federal government. In stores that are open, and there is an emergency order issued where that store is located, the DM needs to guide store management in how to respond and communicate if they are visited by a local authority that asks why we are open.

You and the DM must identify the specific reason within the emergency order that provides that store permission to be open.

The reasons could be: because we sell educational materials, because we sell products for home based businesses, or because we sell materials to make PPE (personal protective equipment.) Or other reasons that can be identified in an order. You must inform the manager why we are allowed to be open.

However, if visited by an authority the most important thing the manager must convey is a respectful tone. If they are told they need to close, it's yes sir, yes ma'am, I will call my boss right now.

Once the manager calls DM, relayed to you to DVP, we will get that manager an approval quickly.

Thanks,

Store Operations

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