Liability Protection Would Grant Corporations Legal Immunity From Lawsuits When Workers Became Infected on the Job
Experts Warn Businesses Would Require Employees to Work in Unsafe Environments
McConnell, Cornyn Received $1.2 Million From Groups Pushing For Legal Immunity
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic — as more Americans have become ill, lost their jobs, or lost loved ones — one thing has remained unchanged: Mitch McConnell’s determination to throw workers under the bus in favor of his corporate donors.
Meaningful relief legislation has failed to materialize in McConnell’s chamber in part because of the majority leader’s devotion to corporate liability protections. McConnell honed in on corporate immunity as a top priority following an aggressive lobbying campaign by business groups, and hundreds of thousands in political donations to McConnell’s re-election fund.
But experts, economists, and labor advocates warn that rather than protecting the economy (as McConnell baselessly claims) corporate immunity needlessly endangers workers by letting businesses cut the corners meant to keep Americans safe.
Economists, Labor Advocates and Democrats Push Back Against Liability Protections for Corporations, Warn of Risks to Workers
- Ed Mierzwinski, Senior Director Of Federal Consumer Programs At The United States Public Interest Research Group: “The Bottom Line Is That When Nobody Is Accountable, Nobody Is Safe.” “Companies’ purported concern about lawsuits leading to catastrophic bankruptcies is a smokescreen for an opportunistic attempt to use the anxiety that we all share today to push through a revolutionary law that will weaken protections for us all. The bottom line is that when nobody is accountable, nobody is safe.” [Business Insider, 8/9/20]
- Benjamin P. Edwards, Associate Professor Of Law At The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law: “The Legislation Shifts The Cost Of Lost Lives Away From Businesses And On To The Families Of The Dead.” “If the legislation passes, it may change conversations in corporate boardrooms and shift the balance in favor of widespread reopening. In effect, the legislation shifts the cost of lost lives away from businesses and on to the families of the dead. Worse, the legislation applies retroactively. Functionally, this rewards the businesses which profited from running irresponsible operations and the spreading disease.” [The Hill, 8/7/20]
- Justin Wolfers, University of Michigan Economics And Public Policy Professor: “What’s Crystal Clear Is That If You Let Employers Off The Hook, They Won’t Take Safety Precautions.” “We want businesses to be scared. The claim from the Chamber of Commerce that liability will make people scared to do business is correct and that’s the point. We want businesses to take responsibility. All of tort law is about creating a strong incentive for people and companies to not act badly…What’s crystal clear is that if you let employers off the hook, they won’t take safety precautions.” [Popular Information, 4/29/20]
- Anthony Perrone, International President Of The United Food And Commercial Workers International Union: “Immunity Laws Could Send Dangerous Messages That The Safety Of These Workers Is Not The Company’s Responsibility.” “Anthony Perrone, international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, fought back on the idea of protections. ‘This is not about being anti-business, this is about being pro-safety. Immunity laws could send dangerous messages that the safety of these workers is not the company’s responsibility,’ he said at the hearing.” [The Hill, 5/12/20]
- Senator Chris Coons And Republican Analyst Bill Kristol: “In Other Words: No Liability At All For Businesses, Absolute Liability For Workers. This Is Unfair And, Indeed, Offensive.” “In other words: No liability at all for businesses, absolute liability for workers. This is unfair and, indeed, offensive. And we would say, as a Democrat who’s been an advocate for the legitimate interests of businessmen and women in his state, and as a Republican concerned for the future of democratic capitalism, this is the worst possible message about capitalism to send to young people, or to anyone, in America.” [USA Today, 5/7/20]
- Women And Workers Of Color Are Disproportionately Impacted By Corporate Liability Protections. “Immunizing employers from liability would disproportionately harm women and people of color who are the majority of workers in many jobs deemed essential in this crisis. For example, nearly 90 percent of nursing, psychiatric, and home care aides in the United States,4 and 66 percent of grocery store cashiers/salespeople are women. Many of the workers in essential jobs are people of color. For instance, 59 percent of women working as home health and personal care aides and 43 percent of women working as grocery store cashiers are women of color. In the meatpacking industry, over 44 percent of workers are Latinx, roughly one quarter are Black, and among front-line meatpacking workers, more than half are immigrants. A majority of farmworkers are immigrants and people of color. And in warehouses, over one-third of workers are women and nearly 60 percent are people of color.” [National Women’s Law Center, 6/20]
- Corporate Liability Protections Would Allow Business To Get Away With Health And Anti-Discrimination Violations. “The bill makes it easier for businesses to get away with violating key worker protections and anti discrimination laws. This bill weakens important federal laws that prohibit discrimination at work and in public accommodations (like restaurants and hotels), wage and overtime laws, among others. This bill would protect businesses if they can show they merely ‘attempted to’ comply with the law or relevant guidance—and would do so indefinitely. For example, a retail worker with a disability who is at heightened risk of complications due to COVID-19 might request a reasonable accommodation under federal law, like working in the back of a store, rather than in a customer-facing capacity. This bill makes it easier for an employer to deny this request.” [National Women’s Law Center, 8/4/20]
Senators Mitch McConnell And John Cornyn Are Pushing For Corporate Liability Protections After Receiving More Than $1.2 Million In Donations From Groups Lobbying For Immunity
- According To Public Citizen, Business Groups Lobbying For Corporate Liability Protections Have Donated $1.2 Million To Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) And Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): “Business groups pushing for corporate immunity have given more than $1.2 million to the two U.S. Senate Republicans leading the charge to include immunity in any pandemic response legislation. According to a review of Federal Election Commission data by The American Independent, since 2016, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who authored the proposal, has received more than $430,000 from the political action committees of trade associations pushing for immunity. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has received more than $825,000.” [Public Citizen, 8/10/20]
- Senator McConnell And Senator Cornyn Have Been At The Forefront Of The Republican Push For Corporate Immunity. “The Republicans’ 65-page [summer] proposal, introduced by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, and backed by the White House, would shield all corporations, schools, healthcare organizations, nonprofits and religious institutions from most COVID-19-related lawsuits. Under the proposed language, corporations and organizations that are following any form of public health guidelines could not be held liable if a worker contracted COVID-19 on the job… McConnell says liability shields are crucial to the U.S. economic recovery and warns of the prospect of ‘a second pandemic of opportunistic litigation enrich trial lawyers at the expense of Main Street and medical professionals.’ ‘No bill will be put on the Senate floor that does not have liability protection,’ he told reporters.” [Time, 7/30/20]
- McConnell Announced That Corporate Liability Protections Were A Top Priority Following A Lobbying Offensive By The Chamber Of Commerce. “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—following a lobbying offensive by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—recently announced that Senate Republicans’ top COVID-19 response priority is sweeping corporate immunity legislation that would make it nearly impossible to sue corporations for COVID-19-related legal claims by workers, consumers, or patients. Corporate immunity could give employers a free pass to flout worker safety laws, recklessly expose consumers to the virus, or ignore Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on stopping the spread of the coronavirus. On top of that, corporate special interests are also lobbying to get legal immunity from a wide range of critical worker protections, from minimum wage to disability rights laws.” [Slate, 6/11/20]