Business Liability Protection

You’ve installed acrylic shields at the cash registers at your business and given all staff a week’s worth of washable masks. Every staff member will take their temperature as they enter the building. You’ve posted all the signs reminding people to wear masks and wash their hands. Disposable masks and gallons of hand sanitizer are strategically placed around your space.

So you’re ready to jump in and open business back up. At least as soon as the Phased approach allows for that… But you have a nagging concern. What if an asymptomatic employee infects customers? What if you tell a worker to go home because he’s coughing, but insists it’s allergies and wants to stay at work? Despite your precautions, will you be subject a lawsuit?

The US Chamber conducted a national survey indicating that the majority of Americans support liability protections for businesses. It offers data that suggests the support crosses political party lines, and that parts of the liability protection is supported by well over 80% of the general population.

Most recognize that many businesses are struggling with the Covid Crisis and frivolous lawsuits would be especially devastating now.

If concerns about lawsuits related to Covid impact your business, then please let Congress know. In fact, the US Chamber has made is really easy to act now with this one-click link. Essentially, the request is that businesses want to have assurance that they won’t be subject to unwarranted lawsuits provided they follow public health guidelines. However, businesses that engage in gross negligence or willful misconduct would not be exempt. So for example, if a business claimed to follow the rules of requiring employees to wear masks, they’d be good. Yet if they didn’t enforce the use, they might still be subject to a lawsuit if someone got sick.