ATRA Urges Senate to Pursue Employer Liability Protections

ATRA is grateful to both President Trump’s administration and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for prioritizing liability protections for health care workers, manufacturers and business owners.

This afternoon a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider various COVID-19-related liability concerns. ATRA is grateful to both President Trump’s administration and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for prioritizing liability protections for health care workers, manufacturers and business owners.

“We are encouraged to see Congressional leaders realize the importance of providing essential protection to business owners as the country determines how to reopen for business,” ATRA President Tiger Joyce said.

While the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) provided limited liability protection for health care workers and manufacturers of some respiratory masks, liability concerns still abound as the country grapples with the realities of what lawsuits may await upon reopening the economy. Adding manufacturers who have donated products or shifted their manufacturing production to meet critical supply needs to those protected under the PREP Act is an important layer of protection for those who have aided in the fight against COVID-19.

We urge Congress, the administration and individual states to foster a reliable and predictable business climate that will give companies confidence to reopen for business without fear of potential legal repercussions should an employee contract COVID-19 while at work.

Businesses of all sizes must be made aware of what sort of liability they will or will not face before they begin the process of re-opening. ATRA urges lawmakers at both the federal and state level to make these determinations prior to re-opening for business.

ATRA’s policy recommendations and liability concerns were relayed to President Trump’s administration, Congress and state government leaders in the early weeks of the outbreak. These policy prescriptions are detailed in our comprehensive white paper on coronavirus liability concerns.