The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Minnesota
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Minn. Stat. § 8.31; EO 20-99 enforcement paragraph; Minn. Stat. §§ 144.99, 157.20, 340A (as described)
- Issued
- 2020-12-16 Dec. 16, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-12-16
- End
- 2021-07-01 (end of the orders it enforced) (read as 2021-07-01)
- In force
- Dec. 16, 2020 to July 1, 2021
- Quarters
- 2020 Q42021 Q12021 Q2
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Business closureCapacity limitAlcohol and barsWorkplace rules
- Addressees
- specified businesses (restaurants, bars, liquor licensees and other licensed establishments); employers generally
- Character
- agency position statement
- Collection
- Standing duties: Minnesota DUT-MN
Operative words
the Attorney General, as well as city and county attorneys, may investigate and seek any civil relief available pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 8.31, for violations or threatened violations of this Executive Order, including but not limited to injunctive relief, civil penalties in an amount to be determined by the court, up to $25,000 per occurrence
Penalty
As stated: AG civil penalties up to $25,000 per occurrence and injunctions; MDH administrative penalty up to $10,000, cease-and-desist, license suspension and revocation; DPS misdemeanor citation and 60-day liquor-license suspension on a second violation.
What it required
The State's chief legal officer told every business that compliance with the executive orders was enforceable by the Attorney General's § 8.31 suits (injunctions and civil penalties up to $25,000 per occurrence), by MDH's cease-and-desist orders, administrative penalties 'to a maximum of $10,000' and license suspension and revocation, and by DPS misdemeanor citations and a mandatory sixty-day liquor-license suspension for a second violation, and recorded the December 2020 suits against Havens Garden, Boardwalk Bar and Grill and others. Character as recorded: agency_position_statement (release, FAQ, memorandum or statement; order_penalty layer).
Retrieval noteThe AG's own page, rendered to PDF from the live site on Sept. 28, 2026. Its MDH section: 'Businesses that continue to violate EO requirements may be assessed a monetary penalty to a maximum of $10,000 and the license to [operate suspended]'; 'License revocation - Continued failure to comply may result in escalating the license suspension'; MDH 'filed a lawsuit against Havens Garden in Lynd, Minn., for continuing to operate on-premises dining and entertainment in violation of a cease and desist order' and 'won a temporary restraining order against the establishment on Dec. 12'. Its DPS section: 'Any liquor licensee found to be in violation of EO-99 may be issued a misdemeanor citation for the violation. A second violation shall result in a 60-day liquor license suspension.' The AG's opening statement asks businesses 'to comply with them voluntarily' in the sense of complying without litigation; the page's own content is the catalogue of compulsion. Related AG releases read (not saved): Dec. 18, 2020 (Alibi Drinkery TRO), Dec. 21, 2020 (TRO motions against Cornerstone Cafe, Monticello, and Cork, Anoka), Dec. 31, 2020 (temporary injunction and contempt motion).