Janelle Irwin Taylor
Sen. Jeff Brandes is preparing legislation that would protect Florida businesses from being sued if someone contracts the novel coronavirus while working or receiving goods and services on their premises.
As Gov. Ron DeSantis takes steps to begin reopening the state as soon as May 1, Brandes said businesses, particularly small businesses, are worried about liability issues.
“It really is one of the top concerns of businesses reopening,” Brandes said. “Asymptomatic people working in their faculty could spread the disease and lawsuits could come from that.”
“This is a top of mind issue for them and one that will keep Florida from reaching its full potential,” he continued.
Brandes said he’s heard from numerous small business owners who are fearful over liability associated with reopening if an employee or customer were to contract the illness even if they were taking reasonable steps to protect them. He worries that fear will lead to businesses not reopening even if the state allows them to do so.
The legislation would block lawsuits against companies over COVID-19 contraction as long as those companies were taking all necessary precautions to protect employees and customers.
Bad actors who ignore required precautions, whether that’s social distancing or personal protective equipment or some other requirements related to reopening, would not be protected under Brandes’ legislation.
“If there is gross negligence, that’s a very different standard,” Brandes said.
“We think there should be a safe harbor for businesses who are trying to do the right thing. It’s all about getting people back to work.”
Brandes said he would file the legislation at a Special Session if one is convened, which he estimated only had about a 30% chance of happening.
If there isn’t a Special Session to deal with coronavirus-related issues, Brandes said he’d file the legislation during regular session.
The legislation, Brandes said, is in its very early stages.
He’s also working with federal partners to push national legislation.
4 comments
JudgingTheCrisis
April 22, 2020 at 12:13 pm
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” We heard that phrase, when Obama was pushing Obamacare on the public.
It is good to see that thought is being given to the deluge of lawsuits that will stem from the re-opening of our economy. I applaud the law to protect businesses that open, from all the litigation that it is clear will arise.
In order for this to be effective, however, the government will have to provide clear guidelines on what businesses need to do to be in conformity. The term “gross negligence” can be attacked in many ways, and that phrase alone is not sufficient.
I realize that Judges don’t like to be involved in the legislative process, but in this case, it would be wise to ask the State’s and perhaps Federal highest Courts, to assist in this process.
We don’t want to be in a place, where legal actions can destroy the same businesses we are trying to save.
Alex
April 23, 2020 at 1:32 pm
Could you work on getting COVID 19 testing widespread, please? Since the president is leaving this action to the States, perhaps knowing who has the virus and who doesn’t would be a better solution to avoid potential lawsuits.
Oh and the act passed by congress is not called ObamaCare – it’s called the Affordable Care Act. As a “small business” owner and citizen of the US, when someone says legislation was “pushed on us”, I have to askew did the passing of such legislation affect you? Are you enrolled? Did you have private insurance and were forced off of it? I could go on….
NoWayJose
April 23, 2020 at 1:45 pm
Alex, you are clearly clueless on “Obamacare,’ so I won’t bother to talk about that with you.
But, your remark that says: “could you work on getting COVID19 testing widespread please?” is interesting, since everyone in the world is presently working on that.
The Federal Government, every State Government, and all of the might of the private industries in the U.S. are working on this. Everyone knows that knowing who has the virus and who doesn’t is crucial. So, the fact that you are asking for something that everyone is trying to do, is a waste of words.
The situation is this…we have lives to protect and at the same time, we have to get our economy going again, to pay for all the programs and expenses that we have just incurred. The only way to pay for all of this, is to get the economy moving as soon as possible. If we wait for all the tests you want, and/or a vaccine, which may or may not ever be approved for use on all of us, we will no longer have an economy and the shutdown will be forever.
I don’t know if you can picture such a thing, but if you cannot, I will understand your comments.
glenn roberts
April 23, 2020 at 9:29 pm
Good work senator Brandes!
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