my $STATUS1 = "Running";
my $STATUS2 = "Sunning";

print $STATUS1 & $STATUS2, "\n";
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prints 'Running', as R is 0x52 and S = 0x53, but R & S = R

So _no_, don't use '&' unless you know you're working on bits.

I guess you might have it also like

if (lc($STATUS1) eq lc($STATUS2)  and lc($STATUS1) eq 'running') {...
}
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Why not being explicit whenever possible ?