Case Scenario: Last year, the owner of a new restaurant in California had trouble getting customers to comply with the state's smoking ban. The fine for a first violation is $100. A second violation carries a fine of $200, and third and subsequent violations cost $ 500 each. After a third violation within one year, a representative of California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is required to investigate complaints. Employers may be cited with fines up to $ 7,000 for violations classified as general or serious and fines up to $70,000 for violations classified as willfully serious. In the ban's first year in operation, the bar owner had four violations, plus a violation for a serious offense that may or may not have been willful.
1. What are the minimum and maximum amounts that the owner had to pay in fines?
2. What effect do these fines have on businesses and consumers?
3. How do these government actions protect consumers?