As federal lawmakers prepare to present new COVID-19 relief legislation that is expected to include temporary liability protections for businesses, a number of California organizations say they support such measures.
“It is one of the paramount problems and issues that we hope and pray our policy makers will fix at the federal and state level,” John Kabateck, California state director with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) told the Northern California Record.
A recent NFIB Research Center survey found 70% of small business owners worried about increases in liability claims as they reopen, Kabateck said.
The California Business Roundtable (CBRT) with a coalition of more than 20 California business groups wrote to Congressional leaders last week. Their letter asks for COVID-19 legislation that would provide appropriate funds to local governments dealing with sharp revenue declines, as well as liability relief to allow businesses to operate safely while complying with state regulations.
“Current laws and regulations, especially in California, create significant legal concerns for businesses transitioning to work-from-home options,” Rob Lapsley, CBRT president, said in a news release. “The status quo benefits higher-wage salaried employees for whom the 8-hour work day and meal and rest breaks are not as stringently regulated. Work-from-home options should be available for all employees, including lower-wage hourly workers disproportionately affected by the outbreak already. Liability relief will provide confidence and certainty for employers, which will help in turn keep more residents employed now and facilitate faster economic recovery.”
Kabateck noted there has also been a push at the state level to enact liability protections, but no legislation has yet passed.
“With 70 percent of our members fearing frivolous lawsuits, you can count on the fact that we will not be giving up on this at the state or federal level,” Kabateck said. “A scourge of these lawsuits could be the death blow for many of these small businesses.”
A coalition of governors also wrote to Congress last week to press for litigation relief, Forbes reported.
Federal lawmakers were still negotiating details ahead of the package’s expected unveiling this week.
“[W]e’re going to make sure that nurses and doctors who fought an unknown enemy are not swamped by a tidal wave of malpractice suits,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, said in a news release. “And we will make sure that school districts, colleges, churches, nonprofits, and employers that obey official guidance do not have to delay reopening because they’re afraid they’ll spend 10 years in court.”