Since 2010, the Health Department has ordered restaurants to post letter grades of the sanitary inspection results. Soon after the establishment of the letter grading system, the restaurant industry has decried the high price of an “A”.

The scale used to determine the letter grading is as follows: “A” = a score between 0 and 13; “B” = a score between 14 to 27 points; “C” = a score of more than 28 points.  A score of lower than 28 points results in an ungraded inspection.

The letter grading system includes monetary fines.  The fines can be very substantial: in 2012, for example, the Health Department collected $52 million in restaurant fines and, in 2013, $45 million.

The amount of the fines for a violation is set forth in a penalty schedule. The amounts of the fines generally range from $100-$1,000 for each violation.

For restaurants that receive a “C” grade or worse, the fines can total thousands of dollars.  When a restaurant faces thousands of dollars in fines, the restaurant should consider legal options in challenging the assessment of the violation before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.