White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said businesses shouldn’t be held liable if their employees or customers become infected with the coronavirus as states begin reopening their economies.
“Businesses, particularly small businesses that don’t have massive resources, should not be held liable — should not be held to trial lawyers putting on false lawsuits that will probably be thrown out of court,” Kudlow told governors in an interview Wednesday.
“You have to give the businesses some confidence here that if something happens, and it may not be their fault — I mean, the disease is an infectious disease.”
Kudlow said lawsuits would do what the pandemic is doing: closing businesses.
“You can’t throw big lawsuits at them. And I think liability reforms and safeguards are going to be very important part of this. Some of this we can do probably on a regulatory basis. Part of it may require some additional legislation. But that’s a very important point here. Someone has to defend the businesses,” he said.
Kudlow said the country “may be coming down the homestretch” because infection rates have started to subside.
“May will be a transition month and an economic opening across the country. It will to be done in phases,” he said.
Kudlow said data and health guidelines will serve as “road maps” for governors and mayors to follow as they weigh opening up their states for business.
Asked if business owners will meet safety standards if they aren’t fearful of being held liable for infections, Kudlow said he has “confidence in the states and the cities.”
More than 20 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the last month, leading many governors to pick up the pace on reopening their economies.
