Advertisement

Stimulus Check: Business Liability Debate

Lawmakers have yet to come to an agreement on the next phase of coronavirus relief. Yahoo Finance’s Jessica Smith breaks down the latest developments.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: Lawmakers have yet to agree on the next phase of coronavirus relief, and negotiations are at an impasse. Protection from COVID-19 lawsuits is one big issue that has divided Congress throughout the pandemic. Jessica Smith breaks down both sides of the debate in this week's "Stimulus Check."

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MITCH MCCONNELL: I won't put a bill on the floor that doesn't have liability protection in it.

- Liability protection.

ADVERTISEMENT

STEVEN MNUCHIN: As well as liability protection.

JESSICA SMITH: It's been a top priority for Republicans throughout the pandemic, protecting businesses from so-called frivolous COVID-19 lawsuits.

MITCH MCCONNELL: Almost anybody could become liable for almost anything, and there are enterprising trial lawyers all over the country waiting to take advantage of it.

JESSICA SMITH: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said liability protections are a red line for his party. The HEALS Act, the Republican plan for the next round of relief, includes five years of legal protections for businesses, hospitals, schools, and nonprofits that make reasonable efforts to follow health and safety guidelines. But Democrats say the Republican proposal doesn't consider workers who may be put in harm's way while on the job.

NANCY PELOSI: They tell them to go to work. Go to work. You're an essential worker. You must go to work. And when you go to work and there are no protections, you have no recourse.

JESSICA SMITH: Business groups say the protections will help put the economy back on track. The US Chamber of Commerce and nearly 500 organizations recently wrote congressional leaders urging them to include liability shields in the next phase of relief so they can continue to contribute to a safe and effective economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. But Democrats like Senator Sherrod Brown warn liability shields could be dangerous.

SHERROD BROWN: More people will go back to work. More people will get sick because corporations won't have any liability, any responsibility, any accountability built into the system.

JESSICA SMITH: Neil Bradley with the US Chamber stresses employers who are grossly negligent will still be held accountable.

NEIL BRADLEY: There's no blanket immunity here. All this says is if they follow those guidelines, if they follow the recommendations of the public health experts, they don't have to be worried about being dragged into court later by someone alleging that they should have done something different.

JESSICA SMITH: Instead of a liability shield, Democrats and labor groups want OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to put enforceable coronavirus safety standards in place. They say clear expectations would protect both workers and employers.

RICHARD TRUMKA: We need to have a standard that's enforceable before they ever talked about giving them liability relief from anything, which incentivizes them to do less, rather than to do more to protect workers.

JESSICA SMITH: According to one law firm's coronavirus litigation tracker, there have been roughly 4,200 COVID-19-related legal complaints filed so far. Most of them are connected to prisoner petitions, civil rights, or insurance. Very few of them involve COVID-19 exposure or wrongful death.

SHERROD BROWN: When corporations do what's required of them and follow the law on the environment, on worker safety standards, they don't get sued. I mean, good lawyers don't bring lawsuits against good-- against corporations that behave and they follow the law.

JESSICA SMITH: But Bradley argues, it's better for Congress to be proactive.

NEIL BRADLEY: I don't think we should wait to erect a safe harbor until after we already have thousands and thousands of lawsuits, right? That denies the very protection that small businesses, universities, and public schools are looking for here.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Just well let you know, we reached out to OSHA for comment, but they have not responded. We'll be right back.