A Thai restaurant in the Windward City Shopping Center faces a $7,000 fine for removing a yellow “Conditional Pass” placard that had been posted at its entrance after Health Department inspectors found food safety violations.

Chao Phya Thai Restaurant has since corrected the violations and has a green placard indicating that it has met all requirements.

During a routine inspection Feb. 2, health inspectors posted a yellow placard for several violations of the food safety code, which is designed to protect against foodborne illnesses.

The violations included employees not washing hands before putting on gloves; not changing gloves when switching from washing dishes to preparing food; and holding perishable foods at improper refrigeration temperatures.

During a follow-up inspection Feb. 4, the yellow placard was not on the front door, and there were still outstanding violations. Only Health Department employees are allowed to post or remove such placards.

On Thursday a restaurant employee told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that there was a misunderstanding because of her limited English, and that the original placard had been posted inside the restaurant rather than at the entrance.

A second follow-up inspection Feb. 8 confirmed that all violations had been rectified, and the restaurant received its green placard.

The company may contest the notice of violation and ask for a hearing.

“Since the start of the restaurant placarding program in 2014, this is only the third incident involving tampering with a placard,” said Peter Oshiro, environmental health program manager. “Our Hawaii food industry’s participation in the program has been impressive.”

The Health Department’s Food Safety Program has conducted nearly 12,000 inspections since July 2014 and issued more than 9,500 green “Pass” placards, 2,400 yellow “Conditional Pass” placards and three red “Closed” placards.