Last week, SHRM joined more than 450 national, state and local organizations in advocating for S.4317, the Safe to Work Act. The legislation would provide timely, targeted and temporary liability relief to organizations as they safely reopen in support of American workers and the economy. Specifically, the bill would create temporary new legal protections for businesses, nonprofits, health care providers and educational institutions that follow public health guidelines.
The bill also preserves reasonable recourse for those individuals harmed by truly bad actors. Organizations that fail to make reasonable efforts to comply with health guidelines and that are grossly negligent or that engage in willful misconduct are not protected under this legislation and can be sued if they expose people to the coronavirus and cause injury.
In the coalition letter,SHRM and others urged Congress to include the Safe to Work Act in the next COVID-19 relief package.