ATRA Urges Quick Action on Liability Shield in Congress

Liability Shield in Congress – ATRA Urges Quick Action

ATRA supports the SAFE TO WORK Act as part of the Senate’s HEALS Act legislative package for coronavirus relief.

Last night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed his HEALS (Health, Economic Assistance, Liability protection, and Schools) Act legislative package to address the next steps in coronavirus relief.

The liability portion of the package, the SAFE TO WORK (Safeguarding America’s Frontline Employees To Offer Work Opportunities Required to Kickstart the Economy) Act, will provide liability relief for businesses, healthcare workers and facilities, educational institutions, local governments and more.

“This legislation strikes the right balance between ensuring safe environments for workers, providing a liability shield for entities that follow government health guidelines, and preventing trial lawyers from taking advantage of the crisis and filing frivolous lawsuits,” American Tort Reform Association President Tiger Joyce said.

The SAFE TO WORK Act will:

Provide liability relief for businesses, healthcare workers and facilities, educational institutions, local governments, religious, philanthropic and other nonprofit institutions;

Outline requirements for liability, providing predictability for those entities who operate amid the pandemic; and,

Protect manufacturers of products such as PPE or hand sanitizer from frivolous lawsuits.

“With thousands of coronavirus-related lawsuits already pending, we urge Congress to quickly take action on the SAFE TO WORK Act to protect small business owners, healthcare workers, educational institutions and all those who face the threat of frivolous litigation so we can safely combat the pandemic and work to rebuild our economy,” Joyce said.