Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined 21 other state attorney generals in a letter to Congress asking for legislation protecting against "frivolous COVID-19-related litigation against first responders, healthcare workers, law enforcement, and healthcare facilities" on Thursday.
The letter, authored by the attorney generals of Georgia and Utah, asks members of Congress to adopt federal pandemic liability protections in the Safe to Work Act.
"A common-sense framework is necessary to provide liability protections as we restart our economy safely and appropriately in the midst of this pandemic," Paxton said in a press release. "Businesses need clearly defined expectations for safe operations and protection from baseless COVID-19-related claims while operating in good faith."
The letter calls for a "the need for a uniform national baseline of liability protection still exists."
Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) is pushing to bolster liability protections to buffer their firms from coronavirus-related lawsuits, so long as they don’t wantonly disregard safety guidelines, the Dallas Morning News's Tom Benning reported Thursday.
Cornyn proposed a liability shield, which would protect businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits, so long as they haven't acted in "gross negligence" or "willful misconduct"
Critics argued that that level of immunity would leave employees and consumers with little to no recourse.
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You can read the letter here.
