Indiana Chamber Legislative Priority

Securing legal liability protections for Hoosier businesses if an employee or customer contracts COVID-19 after returning to work or visiting the business.

The issue: We’ve heard from many business leaders who are concerned about being sued by an employee, customer or visitor who claims to have contracted COVID-19 at the workplace or as a result of company actions. More and more of these lawsuits are being filed across the country, despite the fact a person could be exposed to the virus at home or anywhere out in public.

Fear of litigation should not be a concern, and we are here to make sure this concern is eliminated!

Lawsuits could devastate businesses already struggling financially, and the threat of litigation could mean some businesses choose to remain shut, crippling efforts to restart the Hoosier economy.

The status: While we are still hopeful that Congress will address the liability concern before the election, there is a greater uncertainty than before. We recognize this is a real concern for all employers and are pushing to have something done as soon as possible at both the federal and state levels.

What we are doing: The Indiana Chamber continues to be in frequent communications with the Governor’s office, state legislative leaders and Indiana’s congressional delegation on this matter. Our preference – and what we’ve communicated to state officials – is for Indiana to also adopt its own policy in the 2021 General Assembly to ensure the best protections are in place.

To achieve that, the Chamber’s Civil Justice Committee is currently finalizing language to propose to the state Legislature that encompasses the following four principles:

• In order to have standing to bring a lawsuit, there must be serious injury or death resulting from COVID-19. Serious injury is defined as an individual who has tested positive, required treatment for physical symptoms and is hospitalized for at least 72 hours.
• An employer that has made a good faith effort to follow CDC guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic should be entitled to “safe harbor” provisions sheltering them from potential liability.
• Manufacturers, distributors and sellers of medical equipment, products or supplies that were developed and distributed to diagnose, treat or prevent COVID-19 need to have immunity from liability to any user or consumer who claims actual injury as a result of contracting COVID-19.
• For the purposes of worker’s compensation, COVID-19 (or any variation thereof) should be considered an accidental injury in the Indiana worker’s compensation statute.

Check back here for future updates on this policy.

Contact: Mike Ripley leads the efforts on this issue on behalf of our Chamber members and investors. You can reach him at (317) 919-6456 or mripley@indianachamber.com.