Don’t Wait for Congress to Save Your Firm from Coronavirus Liability
Your firm should already have a written coronavirus workplace safety plan in place. If it doesn’t, stop reading this story and start writing it. We’ll be here when you’re done.
The foundation of your firm’s legal defense is a written workplace safety plan that follows federal, state, and local guidelines for protecting your employees from contracting coronavirus on the job.
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According to a July survey of 150 employers by the employment law firm Blank Rome, nearly two in three respondents (60 percent) had an employee test positive for COVID-19 since March. Twenty percent of those companies reported receiving a coronavirus-related complaint from an employee, with discrimination, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/safety issue, and negligence considered as the top liabilities.
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In addition, the Safe to Work Act raises the standard of proof for such claims and redefines negligence and willful misconduct in a way that is so broad and so employer-friendly that it’s an almost impossible standard for a plaintiff (an employee or employee’s family) to meet, said Brooke Iley, partner at Blank Rome and co-chair of the firm’s labor and employment practice group.
“It’s basically got any protection you’ve ever wanted,” she said.
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Your return-to-office plan should be clearly and consistently communicated to employees and should be based on the federal, state, and local health guidelines in place at the time. The courts understand that this guideline shifts—remember in March, when the advice for most people was not to wear masks?
“If you make a mistake, you can say you relied on the guidance that was available at the time, and that you followed it as best you could,” Iley said.
“Don’t Wait for Congress to Save Your Firm from Coronavirus Liability,” by Aaron Nicodemus was published in Compliance Week on August 5, 2020.
