A Florida nonprofit is promoting the creation of liability shields for businesses in light of two COVID-19-related reports it recently released.
Florida TaxWatch promotes recommendations for “COVID-19 Liability Language and Recommendations for Florida’s Economic Sector Recovery” included in two reports: “The Best Defense is a Good Offense: The Economic Impact of Protecting Responsible Floridians from COVID-Related Civil Liability” and “Bringing The Sunshine State Back: The Impact of COVID-19 Across Florida’s Economy & Options for Recovery,” a press release said.
Included in “Bringing The Sunshine State Back” and “The Best Defense is a Good Offense” are recommendations that the Florida legislature create liability shields for “businesses, their agents and individuals” from “litigation resulting from alleged exposure to COVID-19 by customers and employees,” and that such legislation would help grow the economy.
“The Best Defense is a Good Offense” said failure to enact shield liability could negatively impact the Florida economy from March 2020 through September 2020 by as much as $16.1 billion (12.9% since the fourth quarter of 2019) with more than 208,000 jobs lost.
“The impact on personal income amounts to a total maximum possible loss of -$14.6 billion,” the report said. “The total maximum effect on tax collections, both the state and local governments, is estimated at -$1.5 billion loss with the lion’s share coming from sales tax.”
Florida TaxWatch president Dominic Calabro told the Florida Record that the state's economy could be reduced “by as much as $27.6 billion and more than 356,000 jobs annually” if employers lack confidence in an economy that doesn’t have liability shields. Florida’s economic recovery relies on “businesses, healthcare facilities and other entities” being protected from civil liability, Calabro said.
“As Florida businesses struggle to reopen or remain open in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are fearful of the threat of litigation,” Calabro said. “Responsible business owners acting in good faith to comply with public health directives and health care workers and facilities who must make extremely difficult decisions under trying and uncertain circumstances must have comfort that they will be able to operate without fear of opportunistic, predatory and expensive litigation.”
Calabro said that people who contract COVID-19 through “gross negligence” should have redress in order to recover from their injuries.
“We must ensure that good actors are protected and bad actors are punished,” Calabro said.
Florida TaxWatch’s research in 2006 on how frivolous lawsuits affected the state’s economy led to reforms, Calabro said.
“Today we see the same potential for runaway litigation which would have a devastating impact on Floridians across the board but especially our businesses as they strive to recover from the global economic crisis,” Calabro said. “Safeguards are essential to ensure that all industries across Florida remain ‘open for business.’ Failure to act can have dire consequences.”