Fight brews in Congress over Republican push to protect business from
coronavirus lawsuits
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[May 07, 2020]
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key U.S. Senate
Democrat pushed back on Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's
drive to protect employers from coronavirus-related lawsuits when the
economy begins to reopen, saying it would be unnecessary if the White
House set clearer standards.
Republicans and business groups warn that companies could face a flood
of litigation from employees and customers who become infected after
operations resume. Plaintiff advocates counter that employers are
protected by legal barriers including the difficulty of demonstrating
where COVID infections occur.
McConnell has made a bill protecting employers a top priority as
Congress weighs what next steps to take to address a pandemic that has
killed more than 71,000 Americans and thrown more than 26 million out of
work.
Republicans led by President Donald Trump have pushed for a re-opening
of state economies, saying Americans can no longer endure the toll of
shuttered businesses and lost livelihoods.
"The president is forcing workers back into unsafe plants and Mitch
McConnell is trying to slam the courthouse door on the workers who get
hurt," Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told Reuters in an emailed
statement.
Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold a
hearing on liability protection next week, said clear guidance on worker
safety would give employers "a strong 'standard of care' defense in
court" and would "keep people safer, so there weren't lawsuits in the
first place."
McConnell's Republicans control a slim majority in the Senate, but he
would need to sell the idea to the Democratic-controlled House of
Representatives for it to pass Congress.
Republicans and business groups that are lobbying for liability
protection say that legal safe harbors are necessary to protect
companies planning to restart operations after extended shutdowns, as
well as those that have remained open throughout the pandemic.
But as the debate in Congress gains momentum, emerging signs suggest
that those opposed to blanket protections for companies could accept
some form of narrow immunity for employers who take the proper steps to
safeguard their workers.
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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to
reporters after it was announced U.S. congressional leaders and the
White House agreed on nearly $500 billion more in coronavirus relief
for the U.S. economy, bringing to nearly $3 trillion the amount
allocated to deal with the crisis, on Capitol Hill in Washington,
U.S., April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo
"If you wanted to write a bill that said that reasonable conduct
would be protected - because some of the proponents of immunity
don't seem to understand that - that would be something that we
would have no problem with," Linda Lipsen, who heads the American
Association for Justice, told reporters on Wednesday. The nonprofit
group represents trial lawyers.
The problem, critics say, is that the Trump administration has not
established national standards for worker safety in the era of the
coronavirus and McConnell has not produced a tangible legislative
proposal.
Some Democratic aides have expressed hope that details could soon
begin to emerge.
On Tuesday, McConnell told reporters that Republicans were working
on a "narrowly crafted" liability protection measure without
offering details. "It will not protect somebody from gross
negligence," McConnell said.
On Wednesday, McConnell's office could offer no guidance on how he
might address the issue of safety standards.
Lipsen, whose group opposes blanket protections for businesses, said
she would need to see details of the Republican measure before
offering an assessment.
The COVID-19 Complaint Tracker, a database maintained by the U.S.
law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth, showed 859 coronavirus-related
lawsuits on Wednesday. Nearly 30% of the lawsuits involved
litigation arising from prison conditions.
(Reporting by David Morgan, additonal reporting by Tom Hals in
Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman)
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