Attorney: 2 Utah County businesses didn't force staff with COVID-19 to work

(KUTV) — Utah County Attorney David Leavitt announced Tuesday that allegations against two Utah County businesses accused of forcing employees to work after testing positive for COVID-19 are "not true."

Leavitt said the information from the Utah County Health Department was "not accurate."

"No information indicates they forced their employees to work while they're sick," he said.

Leavitt said he's not sure where the "inaccurate information" came from or how it happened.

A spokeswoman for the Utah County Health Department said Tuesday that they were working to schedule a meeting with Leavitt before responding.

The claim initially surfaced in early May when health officials briefed county commissioners.

“Our individuals and our citizens do so well in so many ways,” said Ralph Clegg, executive director of the Utah County Health Department, on May 4. “Unfortunately, we’ve had a few examples where it’s not been so good, where there’s been some outbreaks because businesses have required sick employees to come to work.”

The allegation shocked and outraged Utahns and captured interest across the country.

"My investigation team met with the health department... and that's what prompted us to not open a criminal investigation," he said. "I'm simply correcting something that was stated by the health department that isn't true."

The allegations surfaced against two unnamed Utah County businesses in a letter from the Utah County Commission on May 4. Those two businesses experienced outbreaks of the virus, resulting in nearly 70 people contracting it.

“I’m not saying those businesses weren’t a hotspot,” Leavitt said. “I am saying those businesses were not forcing their employees to work.”

The health department reported that it performed contract tracing at the businesses. Leavitt echoed the department's words, saying none of the employees directly engaged with the public, so the businesses' names would not be made public.

“The public had no threat of stumbling into a business that would put them at risk," Leavitt said.

Public records requests filed by KUTV, and the other media outlets, to find out the names of the businesses were denied on May 18.

According to a lawsuit filed against the Built Brands, a woman claims the company "knowingly, intentionally and recklessly" operated in a way that exposed her and others to COVID-19. It's unknown if this business is one of the two at the center of the COVID-19 allegations.

The suit, filed in Fourth District Court, claims Juana Victoria Flores contracted coronavirus while working on the production lines of Built Brands, LLC. in American Fork. The company makes and sells protein bars and nutritional supplements.

Leavitt said the health department can name the businesses, "if it complies with the law."