Senate Republicans are preparing to offer a five-year shield against coronavirus lawsuits as part of an upcoming relief proposal.
The proposal would be retroactive from December 2019 to 2024, or the end of an emergency declaration issued by the Department of Health and Human Services if that is later, according to a draft summary obtained by The Hill.
The proposal, which is currently being reviewed by the White House, would give federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits related to personal injury or medical liability related to coronavirus infections, avoiding lawsuits in state courts, where business groups have warned about uneven laws.
According to the summary, institutions that include businesses, colleges, schools and churches would only be legally responsible if they did not make “reasonable efforts” to follow public health guidelines and “commit an act of gross negligence or willful misconduct.”
Healthcare facilities and workers would also be legally responsible for “gross negligence and willful misconduct.”
Accountability reform is considered a priority for Senate Republicans, including the majority leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Memo to Mitch: Repeal Republican Tax Increase Travel Industry Demands Specific Relief Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Why Dr. Fauci Is Donald Trump’s Worst Nightmare MORE (R-Ky.), In upcoming negotiations on Congress’ fifth coronavirus package.
McConnell is expected to unveil the Republican proposal next week and “socialize” it with members of his conference, who have dispersed across the country in the past two weeks.
McConnell, speaking in Kentucky during the recess, repeatedly warned that the coronavirus legislation will not pass without liability protections.
“There should be, should be, no bill will go to the Senate without liability protection for everyone related to the coronavirus … No one should have to face an epidemic of lawsuits on the heels of the pandemic that we have already linked to the coronavirus McConnell said during a stop in Kentucky this week.
Senator Roy Blunt
Republican Roy Dean BluntSenate Proposes Five-Year Protection Against Hillicon Valley Coronavirus Lawsuits: Facebook Considers Advertising Policy Ban | Senators Raise Concerns About Civil Rights Audit | Amazon reverses by telling workers to remove TikTok advocacy groups pressuring the Senate to meet and increase electoral funding (R-Mo.), A member of the Republican Party leadership, added that the Republican Party proposal would be “relatively narrow and relatively short.”
“It is not just commercial protection, it is also school protection, protection for the healthcare provider,” Blunt said.
But Democrats have been skeptical of the upcoming Republican proposal, questioning whether it would prevent workers from suing for unsafe working conditions as more companies begin to reopen.
“We believe that there is a way to talk about protecting the companies, workers and customers that enter, and that is our disposition of OSHA. But again, let’s listen to what everyone has to say,” said the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiPelosi remembers John Lewis as “a titan” whose “bravery transformed our nation” Civil Rights Legend Representative John Lewis dies Pelosi asks FBI to investigate Sean Monterrosa’s fatal police shooting MORE (D-Calif.) He told reporters last week.
Senate minority leader Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer How a Progressive Populist Appears to Have Overthrown Engel MJ Hegar Wins Democratic Battle to Challenge John Cornyn Dunford Withdraws from Presidency to Chair Coronavirus Oversight Panel MORE (DN.Y.) called the Republican proposal, which it said it had not seen, a “shield of responsibility for CEOs.”
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