Because the Pandemic Rages On, Legal responsibility Safety Is Important to Financial Restoration

COVID-19 cases are on the rise – not just medical, but legal cases as well. Failure to act quickly and with common sense to stem this surge will only worsen the economic chaos that the COVID-19 pandemic has already wreaked on the American economy.

The number of lawsuits for violations of labor and labor law in relation to COVID-19 continues to increase. Almost 500 lawsuits have been filed so far. The number of complaints doubled from April to May and rose by another 50% in June. Then even more documents were submitted in July than in June. And those numbers don’t include the thousands of cases filed under tort and personal injury laws claiming exposure to the virus itself.

The Senate Health, Economic Aid, Liability, and Schools Act (HEALS) deliberately provides protection for business owners from this rising barrage of lawsuits. Passage is critical to the economic recovery and long-term health of the American economy.

The HEALS Act offers corporations, healthcare providers, and others limited, targeted relief from this onslaught of claims. It strikes a fair balance between protecting the health and safety of workers and customers and saving businesses from predatory lawsuits. This is not about protecting bad actors. Rather, it tracks employers who have acted in good faith and have relied on federal, state, and local public health guidelines and guidelines. Companies that have acted willfully or with gross negligence will continue to be held accountable. However, businesses large and small that have struggled to adapt to almost daily changes in state, state, and local guidelines are protected from the risk of costly litigation.

For example, the bill provides that a company that adequately complies with applicable coronavirus health standards will not be held liable for alleged exposure to COVID-19 unless its actions are due to gross negligence or willful misconduct. This ensures that employers who do their best to keep their businesses alive while navigating the maze of public health guidelines will not have gotcha disputes for months or even years.

For example, at the beginning of the pandemic, the public was told that it was not necessary for people to wear masks and, in fact, public health officials encouraged people not to use them for everyday life because they were badly needed by caregivers and health workers First responders and there were bottlenecks. Now that the pandemic continues to rage across the country, many states and locations are mandating or strongly promoting the use of masks in public spaces.

Looking back is always 20/20. A small company whose employees did not wear masks in April should not, based on what was known at the time, be held liable for COVID-19 exposure if that employer did everything it was ordered to. The HEALS Act ensures that these good faith employers do not face litigation and liability from a “well you should have known better then” perspective.

Equally important, the HEALS Act protects companies from claims arising from efforts to combat the coronavirus under a number of labor and labor laws. This includes protecting against claims related to COVID-19 testing, as well as placing workers with disabilities and others in a pandemic workplace. Take, for example, an employer who reopens their plant and calls key employees back to work, but has employees who cannot safely wear protective masks for medical or other reasons. If the company can’t safely house these workers, it is between a rock and a hard place: risk the safety of many other workers (and the potential liability of exposing them to COVID-19) or keep the lesser number of workers away of work until they can return safely (possibly violating federal laws protecting people with disabilities). An employer who acts in good faith should not face the choice of this Hobson.

The bill provides targeted liability relief to businesses that are required to assert claims under these laws, and includes common sense provisions that limit liability under the Federal Workers Adaptation and Retraining Act (WARN) if employers take unprecedented measures prior to closure of their company or the downsizing of their workforce, the effects of COVID-19 are unable to report the loss of jobs in a timely manner.

Finally, the bill encourages employers to do more to protect their workers, customers, clients and the public. Under the HEALS Act, companies are not potentially held liable as “joint employers” or entering into an employment relationship with an independent contractor just for providing COVID-19-related policies and procedures, tests, cleaning services or personal protective equipment or training to another Worker of business. For example, many national franchisors would like to provide this support to their independent franchisees – but fear it for reasons of possible liability. Under the HEALS Act, a national franchisor can assist its small business franchisees in maintaining a safe workplace for employees and customers without fear that that assistance will be used to label them in an unrelated litigation years later. The same logic applies to small businesses turning to independent contractors to help reopen them, and the Senate bill makes it clear that using contractors in this way does not constitute evidence of an employment relationship (and all related legal Obligations) is used. later.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned two unprecedented crises of enormous proportions: a public health crisis and an economic one, with efforts to address one crisis often exacerbating others. Business closures can benefit public health, but have devastating economic consequences. Reopening too quickly or returning to “normal” before COVID-19 can result in even higher rates of infection, injury and death. The protection of the HEALS Act provides a solution that addresses both public health and economic needs without risking one for the other.

Michael Lotito and James Paretti are labor lawyers on the management side. Lotito advises corporations and policymakers on the future of labor law and has testified before the US House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on employment issues. Paretti, former chief of staff and senior advisor to the acting chairman of the EEOC, has over two decades of experience working with federal lawmakers and policy makers, including developing guidelines and providing legal advice to senior administrative officials.