… it does.
Apparently, they want to pass a law to give employers immunity from liability if customers sue them if they contract coronavirus in their establishments. Presumably, employees would be similarly left unprotected.
If you think about this at all, you’d know that employers would be highly unlikely to be held liable for any deaths if they followed public health guidelines. It’s only if they re-open prematurely and fail to do what they were instructed to do to protect their customers and employees that this would be a problem.
But Trump and his rich cronies see an opportunity to shield themselves from any responsibility if they show reckless disregard for the lives of their workers and customers:
White House officials are hotly debating whether and how to propose a “liability shield” that would prevent businesses from being sued by customers who contract the coronavirus, according to four people aware of the internal planning effort, as the administration seeks to encourage businesses to reopen without fear of being hit by lawsuits.
Attorneys in the White House Counsel’s Office are reviewing the matter, but some administration officials have raised objections to the idea, including whether it would expose the federal government to legal claims, according to two of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Some White House advisers also have expressed concern that the plan might provoke a political firestorm.
“There’s political trouble here on multiple fronts,” said one person in close communication with the White House about the push. “There are a lot of questions about how to structure this.”
President Trump has pushed to “reopen” the country to reverse the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but numerous executives have told the White House they are hesitant to reopen stores given the potential legal risk, these people said. White House officials are likely to seek the “liability shield” as part of the next stimulus package being taken up by Congress, and also are likely to enact an executive order and unilateral regulatory reform to curtail firms’ liability, a senior administration official said. The exact details of such an order have not been determined and planning remains in flux.
Trump and his chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, have publicly said the administration is working on the measure. The idea has met fierce resistance from congressional Democrats and workers’ groups, who warn it could allow employers to escape consequences for unsafe practices, complicating its likelihood of passage. Congressional Democrats are unlikely to approve the liability shield as part of the next round of negotiations.
It also has provoked internal debate among White House officials. Some small businesses have told White House advisers that the liability waiver is not a top priority for them and that they want the administration to instead focus on expanding the small-business loan program crucial to their survival.AD
At a White House news briefing earlier this month, Trump said the administration was exploring the idea of “trying to take liability away” from companies.
“We just don’t want that because we want the companies to open and to open strong,” he said.[…]
[W]orkers’ groups see the push as an attempt by business interests to shirk their responsibility to protect customers and workers, said Debbie Berkowitz, who worked at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration during the Obama administration and is now director of the worker safety and health program at the National Employment Law Project.
“It’s horrible,” Berkowitz said. “The idea companies can be held accountable is absolutely crucial to protecting workers and employers. … This is one of the most appalling things I’ve heard in the context of this crisis.”
Trump and his greedhead cronies want to force everyone to open up before it’s safe and then shield businesses if people get sick and die because of it. All it does is expose more people to the virus.