In the News

From USA Today: 08/11/2020.

"Responsible businesses have no reason to fear coronavirus lawsuits. The law requires only that they follow safety guidance from public health experts."

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From The Los Angeles Times: 07/29/2020.

"The Republican proposal is more draconian than measures in some of the nine states that have given businesses immunity from lawsuits in the COVID-19 pandemic. It reflects a long-term conservative goal of absolving businesses from responsibility for conditions in their workplaces."

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From Politico: 07/27/2020.

"Of the 3,727 coronavirus-related cases that have been filed since March, just 185, or less than 5 percent, fall into the personal injury category that McConnell describes — plaintiffs claiming fear of exposure, potential exposure or exposure to Covid-19, according to an analysis by the American Association for Justice of a litigation tracker run by law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth. Instead, the bulk of the legal actions deal with insurance claims and civil rights, including people challenging stay-at-home orders."

From Slate: 06/11/2020.

"Businesses need the right incentives to protect workers from COVID-19. Corporate immunity would give them a free pass to gamble with workers’ lives."

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From The New York Times: 05/15/2020.

"The problem is that immunity doesn’t just shield the worst actors; it also punishes the best, by giving a competitive advantage to the businesses that decide to cut corners at the expense of worker and customer health and safety."

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From The Boston Globe: 05/15/2020.

"It would be terrible for Congress to reduce the threat of lawsuits for employers in such egregious situations. The prospect of being sued for negligence helps to hold companies accountable for public-health and safety regulations that the government can’t enforce through inspections alone."

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From Reuters: 05/15/2020.

"But so far, court records show few such cases have been filed and some legal experts say the threat of liability is exaggerated because of the difficulty of proving where someone was infected."

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From The American Prospect: 05/08/2020.

"There is almost no institution less vulnerable than the corporation, which McConnell has nonetheless placed at the top of the list of his bailout priorities. 'We were shocked because the public wants more than anything to feel safe, and if no one is accountable no one is safe,' said Linda Lipsen, CEO of the American Association for Justice. 'But we’re not surprised because the majority leader has been trying to immunize corporate conduct for 34 years.'"

From The Washington Post: 05/03/2020.

"The Senate majority leader may have powerful business lobbies behind him, but he still risks violating what is, or should be, a cardinal rule for both parties during the crisis: Do not exploit it to pursue preexisting policy agendas. Curbing class-action and other lawsuits on behalf of workers and consumers — “tort reform” — has been on the GOP wish list for years, and Mr. McConnell apparently sees an opportunity to advance it, using critical state and local budget shortfalls as leverage."

From Roll Call: 04/29/2020.

"Linda Lipsen, the CEO of the American Association of Justice, said the economy won’t restart if people feel they are at risk and can’t hold those responsible. 'There are more than 50,000 dead Americans and counting and our economy is at a standstill, yet Leader McConnell and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce want to give immunity to corporations that harm consumers and workers by not taking precautions against COVID-19,' she said."