Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he is teaming up with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on legislation that would expand liability protections for businesses as they begin to reopen, The Hill reports.
Speaking from the Senate floor on Tuesday, McConnell said the bill would have "significant new protections" and "raise the liability threshold" for medical malpractice lawsuits.
"Senate Republicans are preparing a major package of COVID-related liability reforms. . . . Our legislation is going to create a legal safe harbor for businesses, nonprofits, governments and workers and schools who are following public health guidelines to the best of their ability," McConnell said.
But he stopped short of promising business owners total "immunity" from lawsuits.
"To be clear now, we're not talking about immunity from lawsuits. There will be accountability for actual gross negligence and intentional misconduct. That will continue," he said. "We aren't going to provide immunity but we are going to provide some certainty. If we want American workers to clock back in, we need employers who know if they follow the guidelines, they will not be left to drown in opportunistic litigation.”
The bill would provide businesses, nonprofits and government agencies with "new legal protections.”
McConnell said that he also hopes the bill will "find ways to expand existing protections" for manufacturers who create coronavirus-related therapeutics or vaccines. He added he also wants it to "create new protections" for medical equipment manufacturers.
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