By Phillips Murrah Attorneys Janet Hendrick and Phoebe Mitchell
As stay-at-home orders have begun to expire in recent weeks, more than half of the states – including Oklahoma and Texas – have lifted restrictions on businesses. With many Americans returning to work after months at home due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic, employers should be aware of claims relating to workplace reentry. Employers can anticipate novel causes of action, including lawsuits alleging a failure to provide a safe workplace.
Janet Hendrick is an experienced employment litigator who tackles each of her client’s problems with a tailored, results-oriented approach.
For example, in New York, nurses’ unions have filed multiple lawsuits against the state, claiming “grossly inadequate” protections against the virus in the workplace. These suits likely mark a trend, as employees may attempt to hold their employers liable for lost work, hospitalizations, and even deaths caused by COVID-19, especially where employees may have contracted the virus in the workplace.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency charged with regulating workplace safety, has not issued new guidance relating to airborne diseases in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the agency has relied on its “general duty” clause, which mandates that employers provide a place of employment “free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm” to their employees. This simply means that employers have a general duty to provide a safe working environment for their employees.
On April 10, 2020, OSHA did issue new guidance regarding recording cases of COVID-19 in the workplace. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers must record instances of illnesses contracted in the workplace, or “occupational illnesses.” OSHA’s new guidance provides that COVID-19 is a recordable illness, and employers will be responsible for recording cases of COVID-19 in the workplace if three criteria are met: (1) the case is a “confirmed case” of COVID-19 as defined by the CDC; (2) the case is “work-related” as defined by 29 C.F.R. § 1904.5; and (3) the case involves one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 1904.7.
Phoebe B. Mitchell is a litigation attorney who represents individuals and both privately-held and public companies in a wide range of civil litigation matters.
(1) “Confirmed case”
The CDC defines a confirmed case of COVID-19 as “an individual with at least one respiratory specimen that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.”
(2) “Work-related”
As defined by OSHA regulations, a case is “work-related” if “an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness.”
(3) General recording criteria
As defined by OSHA regulations, a case meets one or more of the general recording criteria if it results in any of the following: “death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.” Further, the case also meets the general recording criteria if it “involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.”
Because of community transmission of COVID-19, the guidance states that the only employers who must make the above work-relatedness determinations with relation to cases of COVID-19 in the workplace are the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations (which includes emergency medical, firefighting and law enforcement services), and correctional institutions. OSHA will not require other employers to make these same work-relatedness determinations, unless there is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related, and the evidence was readily available to the employer. The guidance is intended to help employers focus on implementation of good hygiene practices and mitigation of COVID-19’s effects in the workplace, rather than forcing employers to make difficult work-relatedness decisions where there has been community spread.
Based on this OSHA guidance and the inevitable surge of litigation in the post-pandemic US, employers should act now to both protect their employees and minimize potential liability.
Before employees return to the workplace, employers should:
1) Create and implement concrete polices and guidelines regarding workplace hygiene, social distancing, face covering usage and reporting of symptoms
2) Monitor employees to ensure compliance with new COVID-19 policies
3) Encourage employees to stay home if they are sick
4) Allow at-risk employees to work from home where possible
5) Allow employees to return to work in phases where possible
6) Close off common areas in the workplace, such as break rooms, in an effort to encourage social distancing
For more information on this alert and its impact on your business, please call:
Janet Hendrick is a Shareholder in the Dallas office of Phillips Murrah who specializes in advising and representing employers. (click name for profile page) Contact her by phone, 214.615.6391 or by email.
Phoebe Mitchell is an Associate in the Oklahoma City office of the firm. (click name for profile page) Contact her by phone, 405.606.4711, or by email.
Phillips Murrah’s labor and employment attorneys continue to monitor developments to provide up-to-date advice to our clients during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Keep up with our ongoing COVID-19 resources, guidance and updates at our RESOURCE CENTER.
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