Oregon House Republicans today joined their Democrat colleagues in support of legislation that would establish temporary and limited liability for coronavirus related litigation. Ten House Democrats shared a letter with their fellow lawmakers encouraging legislative leaders to quickly pass this legislation during the current special session.

“My office has been flooded with emails and phone calls from organizations, both public and private, seeking relief from the uncertainty surrounding employer liability during this unprecedented time,” said House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby). “Public and private employers are committed to meeting state and federal guidelines to protect the safety of their employees, students and customers. It’s our job as lawmakers to ensure that organizations who are doing everything they have been asked to do by the government, are protected from potentially devastating legal threats.”

“Given the extensive bipartisan support for adopting a fix to this problem in this special session, I am committed to working with all stakeholders and legislative leadership to bring this concept to a vote,” concluded Leader Drazan. Language to ensure nonprofits, local governments, schools and businesses are protected from opportunistic lawsuits is expected to be introduced as an amendment to HB 4212.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-06-26 10:44:39

Last Update: 2020-06-26 10:44:48