Update: The Urban Athletic Club, a D.C. gym chain, is paying the District $10,000 as part of a settlement for allegedly failing to enforce COVID-19-related safety requirements, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced Thursday.

In December, Racine’s office sued the gym after investigators said they observed its employees allowing customers at its Shaw location to exercise without masks, proper distancing, or equipment sanitization. With the settlement, the club agreed to comply with the COVID-19 mandates or face an additional $10,000 penalty, Racine’s office said in a release.

“While Urban Athletic Club began complying with health and safety guidelines shortly after we filed suit in December, this settlement holds the company accountable for its previous failures and sends the message that any business that refuses to take legally required steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19—like requiring masks and social distancing—will be held accountable,” Racine said.

Original:

Attorney General Karl Racine announced Tuesday that D.C. gym chain Urban Athletic Club has agreed to follow the city’s emergency COVID-19 health and safety requirements. The announcement follows a lawsuit Racine’s office filed last week that alleges the gym failed to comply with social distancing requirements and rules for cleaning equipment.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Urban Athletic Club wherein it will follow and enforce the District’s health guidelines, whose sole objective is to contain the spread of COVID-19 and keep District residents safe,” Racine said in a statement.

In early October, Racine’s office notified the club of a report that employees and customers at the gym’s Shaw location were violating COVID-19 safety requirements — a complaint Urban Athletic Club owner Graham King acknowledged on Oct. 14 in a letter, according to a press release from Racine’s office.

An investigator with Racine’s office visited the Shaw location six times between Oct. 20 and Nov. 23 and witnessed mask-less patrons within six feet of each other, per the release. An outdoor workout setup wasn’t properly spaced for people working out or those walking by, the suit alleges. Racine’s office says the practices directly violate Mayor Muriel Bowser’s mask order and Phase Two guidance for gyms and workout studios.

The lawsuit also cites photos on the gym’s Instagram account, taken since late October, which show employees and customers “in close proximity — in some instances, touching — without masks.”

After Racine’s office filed the suit, Urban Athletic Club entered an interim agreement to enforce the emergency health orders at its gyms, the release said. The company also has an Adams Morgan gym located in the LINE Hotel and a Glover Park gym at the Kimpton Hotel, though, the violations were only witnessed at the Shaw location.

The agreement remains in effect until the case is resolved by a trial or final consent order.

In an emailed statement, Urban Athletic Club founder Graham King said that since the club’s opening more than seven years ago, it has offered free community classes and trials, donated to local charities, and promoted health and fitness “as the foundation to a long and prosperous life.”

“Like the Attorney General, we believe the health and safety of our community is of paramount importance and have voluntarily affirmed to the Attorney General that we intend to comply with the Mayor’s coronavirus orders, as has always been our intent,” Graham said.

Bowser modified Phase Two guidelines on Nov. 23, restricting requiring gyms, private trainers, and recreation centers to suspend all indoor group exercise classes and outdoor classes for groups of 25 or more.

“With coronavirus cases spiking across the District, everyone must take simple precautionary measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing, to reduce exposure and transmission risk,” Racine said. “Any business that knowingly flouts the District’s emergency orders, and needlessly endangers residents, will be held accountable.”

This story has been updated with a statement from the owner of Urban Athletic Club.