Menards cited by Nessel for second time for actions
during COVID-19 pandemic

Price Gouging & Intentional Marketing to Increase Traffic

For the second time in two weeks, Menards has attracted the attention of Michigan’s top law enforcement officer for activities during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Attorney General Dana Nessel on Tuesday had a letter sent to Wisconsin-based Menards following reports that the company’s stores have been engaging in business practices that violate Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order, according to a news release. The initiative requires businesses to temporarily limit or suspend on-site operations to only those necessary to sustain or protect life.

The alleged activities revolve around marketing and sales practices designed to increase customer presence in Menards stores, Nessel’s Chief of Operations Christina Grossi says in the letter.

Grossi says her office has received “multiple complaints about Menards current business operations.”

“Those complaints suggest Menard’s is intentionally marketing and advertising to drive additional business into its stores in violation of the Governor’s Order,” Grossi wrote. “Some of these complaints have been sent by Menards employees who fear for their safety.”

Following that are four redacted lines. The letter is 2 pages long.

“If true, it’s our position that this business practice violates both the letter – and the spirit,” of Whitmer’s order, Grossi adds. “It also put both the general public and Menards employees at serious risk.”

The letter also points out Mendard’s was recently warned about alleged price-gouging during the crisis.

“We find this business practice particularly troubling since the conduct comes on the heels of warnings from our department,” Grossi says in the letter.

Nessel’s Consumer Protection team sent a cease and desist letter to Menards on March 17 warning it against price-gouging practices.

The company responded with a public apology related to its sale of face masks, but the issues raised in the cease-and-desist letter remain a topic of ongoing discussions with Menards, Nessel said in the release.

“The current climate should not be viewed through the lens of business opportunism where dollars drive decisions over the good of the public’s health,” she says.

Menard's and other similar home improvement stores are only allowed to supply goods to the general public that are “necessary to maintain and improve the safety, sanitation and essential operations of a residence,” and should have as few employees as needed to support those sales, officials said.

Willful violations of the stay-home order can result in a $500 fine and/or 90 days in jail for each offense. Violations should be reported to law enforcement agencies overseeing the jurisdiction in which the alleged offense occurred.

Menards has southeast Michigan stores in Warren, New Baltimore, Bloomfield Hills, Lake Orion, Port Huron, Wixom, Livonia, Taylor, Belleville and Davison. In mid Michigan, the retailer has a store in Union Township.

Additional information for employers can be found on the Guidance for Business page on the state’s website devoted to COVID-19. 

A summary of the activities people can and cannot do under the Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order can be found online here.

The Attorney General’s office recently added a new section to its website, Know Your Employment Rights, to provide Michigan residents with more information on the legal rights of employees and employers under the executive order. 

The state’s COVID-19 website also has information on the Governor’s other executive orders, directives and FAQs which allows for review of each order and its own questions and answers.

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