Business leaders are applauding Florida’s chief financial officer for advancing three general guidelines about providing legal liability protections for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CFO Jimmy Patronis published the principles to help guide state lawmakers planning for a special session in November to tackle the issue. Gov. Ron DeSantis last month signaled that he would consider signing such legislation to curb fears that coronavirus lawsuits against businesses and health care providers could stall the reopening of the state’s economy.
A core part of the process of immunizing businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits is that business owners need to send a message that they’re taking the virus seriously and are willing to do what’s needed to protect people on their premises.
“There should be an expectation that business owners have taken reasonable steps to ensure they’re watching out for the health and safety of their employees and customers,” the first principle states.
The CFO’s advice also includes a plea to lawmakers to keep any provided protections easy-to-follow and consistent.
“Tallahassee has a way of muddying up and over-complicating good ideas,” Patronis’ guidance says. “Drawing arbitrary distinctions across (economic) sectors and empowering unelected bureaucrats to make decisions on who is protected from frivolous lawsuits is bad policy.”
In crafting protections against lawsuits that serve as money-making opportunities for trial attorneys, the legislature needs to ensure the civil court system will still provide justice to those victimized by employers who are willfully negligent, the chief financial officer states.
“The only incentive for bringing suits forward should be justice,” he said. “Any suits that are brought forward should be done so because there is a good case to be made – not because the pandemic presents itself as a lucrative business opportunity.”
Many business and health care leaders in the state expressed support for such liability-protection principles.
“COVID-19 has had devastating effects on Florida’s hospitality industry, which would only be made worse by frivolous lawsuits that will further unfairly destroy hardworking hotel and restaurant operators and potentially put their employees out of work,” Carol Dover, the president & CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, said in an email to the Florida Record. “Liability protection is essential to ensure that only meritorious suits move forward.”