As elected officials discuss potential policies to support the nation’s economic recovery, the American Wood Council (AWC) is supporting a number of policy efforts to stimulate housing, and construction in general. In addition, we have engaged on a related issue that has the potential to affect all wood products facilities, as well as the rest of our supply chain.
In mid-March, following comments AWC filed with the Department of Homeland Security, the wood products industry, among others, was designated by the federal government as an “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce.” Remaining open, these industries took major risks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing their own best safety practices to protect employees, associates, and others at a time when effective procedures were not yet imagined, yet alone available, from OSHA or other agencies, and recommendations weren’t released until many states had already started to reopen. Perhaps as a consequence, we have begun to see the filing of opportunistic, virus-derived lawsuits against companies. By one report, there have already been over 900 federal and state lawsuits filed against a variety of companies, including some claiming workers were subjected to unsafe working conditions.
In response, AWC has been working with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) in seeking legislation that would limit frivolous lawsuits related to steps companies took, in good faith, to protect workers, associates, suppliers, customers, and others from exposure to COVID-19. To be clear, we are not talking about any limits on lawsuits for companies that acted negligently, in bad faith, or didn’t do anything to safeguard their workers. However, we believe Congress and the Administration should protect businesses that took on the risk of remaining open, under very challenging circumstances, and made the best decisions they could, with the information they had, to ensure critical products and supply chains remained open during this time.
Already, more than a dozen states including Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and New Jersey have granted civil-liability protections to healthcare providers, hospitals, nursing homes, physicians, or other medical personnel dealing with surges of patients infected with COVID-19. Some states also have expanded liability protections to manufacturers, architects, engineers, and contractors aiding in the crisis. But to avoid piecemeal solutions, national legislation is needed.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on COVID-19 liability in May, the Committee and its panelists were largely in agreement on this issue. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) announced during the hearing that he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were crafting legislation to expand liability protections for businesses to support companies against coronavirus-related lawsuits. AWC has gone on record encouraging tailored, safe harbor liability protection, and we thank the Judiciary Committee for addressing this issue.
Both Senate Majority Leader McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have said they won’t agree to a bill that doesn’t include liability protections for businesses, while Democrats have expressed skepticism about the idea. AWC is urging legislators to find common ground between providing safe harbors for good faith efforts and giving absolute immunity from all lawsuits. Getting there will require broad, bipartisan support and we hope Congressional leaders can reach a solution that both parties can support.
AWC knows that individuals, families, and businesses face an uncertain future ahead. The road to personal, economic, and financial well-being once more will be a challenge for all to navigate together. Ultimately, businesses that safely and responsibly navigated these unchartered waters in unprecedented times should be met with appreciation, not wrongful litigation.