Protecting Reopening Businesses Recovering from COVID–19 Act

Protecting Reopening Businesses Recovering from COVID-19 Act

This bill exempts businesses and certain medical entities from liability for damages arising from or relating to an individual contracting COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Specifically, this exemption applies to businesses, including nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, and medical entities that provide health care services related to COVID-19. Such entities are exempt from liability if they operate consistent with state or federal guidelines or requirements related to reopening and follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and any other federal or state agency to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. However, this prohibition does not apply to acts that constitute gross negligence or actions brought by a government entity in a regulatory, supervisory, or enforcement capacity.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3915 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3915

    To exempt certain businesses from liability arising from claims 
     relating to an individual contracting COVID-19 as a result of 
              patronizing a business or healthcare entity.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2020

 Mrs. Loeffler introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To exempt certain businesses from liability arising from claims 
     relating to an individual contracting COVID-19 as a result of 
              patronizing a business or healthcare entity.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Reopening Businesses 
Recovering from COVID-19 Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) COVID-19 is a highly contagious infectious disease 
        caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 with more than 6,000,000 people 
        worldwide, and more than 1,900,000 people in the United States, 
        infected.
            (2) To flatten the infection curve, the United States 
        encouraged individuals to practice social distancing and States 
        issued stay-at-home orders to enforce social distancing.
            (3) The necessary measures taken to flatten the curve 
        resulted in the closure or severe reduction in operations of 
        numerous businesses, including restaurants, retailers, and 
        hospitality industry business.
            (4) The closure and reduction in operations of these 
        business precipitated a significant reduction of economic 
        activity and strained the long term health of many businesses.
            (5) The measures taken appear to have flattened the 
        infection curve and States have begun to reopen.
            (6) Health experts agree that COVID-19 remains a highly 
        infectious disease.
            (7) As businesses reopen and customers begin to patronize 
        them there presents a risk of transmission despite mitigation 
        efforts taken by businesses.
            (8) Businesses already strained by prior mitigation efforts 
        cannot afford further economic strain resulting from civil tort 
        claims stemming from customers and patrons contracting COVID-
        19.
            (9) Therefore, it is necessary to provide businesses and 
        healthcare providers with an exemption from liability for 
        claims arising from or relating to individuals contracting 
        COVID-19.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide for an 
exemption from liability arising from claims arising from an individual 
contracting of COVID-19 as a result of patronage of a business or 
health care entity during such time as a national health emergency 
exists.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

            (1) Business.--The term ``business''--
                    (A) means any entity organized as corporation, 
                partnership, limited liability corporation, limited 
                liability partnership, sole proprietorship, farming 
                cooperative, or any other corporate structure 
                recognized by the State in which the business is 
                domiciled; and
                    (B) includes any nonprofit organization or 
                educational institution.
            (2) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual'' 
        means--
                    (A) any invitee or licensee, as defined by the tort 
                law of the State in which the business or COVID-19 
                medical entity is domiciled or does business;
                    (B) any employee, contractor, or other individual 
                providing services to a business or COVID-19 medical 
                entity; or
                    (C) any other person who enters or otherwise visits 
                or avails themselves of the services provided by a 
                business or COVID-19 medical entity.
            (3) Covered period.--The term ``covered period'' means the 
        public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to 
        COVID-19.
            (4) COVID-19 action.--The term ``COVID-19 action''--
                    (A) means any civil action commenced in any Federal 
                or State court in which the alleged harm or injury to 
                the plaintiff arises from or is related to the actual 
                or potential contracting infection of COVID-19 or SARS-
                CoV-2; and
                    (B) does not include any action brought by a 
                government entity in a regulatory, supervisory, or 
                enforcement capacity.
            (5) COVID-19 medical entity.--Any business or governmental 
        institution that provides healthcare related services for 
        COVID-19, including treating, testing, or transportation of 
        COVID-19 patients, manufacturing or distribution of personal 
        protective equipment, and manufacturing, distributing, or 
        testing of other healthcare equipment.
            (6) Damages.--The term ``damages'' means any punitive, 
        compensatory, or general damages recoverable under any State or 
        Federal law.

SEC. 4. LIABILITY EXEMPTION FOR BUSINESSES AND COVID-19 MEDICAL 
              ENTITIES.

    (a) In General.--During the covered period, no business or COVID-19 
medical entity shall be liable for any damages arising from a claim 
arising from or relating from an individual's contracting of COVID-19 
if the business or COVID-19 medical entity was--
            (1) operating in a fashion consistent with any applicable 
        State or Federal guidelines or requirements on reopening; and
            (2) using measures outlined by the Center for Disease 
        Control and Prevention any other State or Federal agency to 
        mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19, including requiring 
        individuals to wear face coverings, sanitizing the workplace, 
        practicing social distancing, and using temperature checks.
    (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a business or 
COVID-19 medical entity that a court has determined to have acted 
grossly negligent.
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