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Business liability shield is holding up another coronavirus bailout – a legal scholar explains why immunity is unnecessary and even harmful

8Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

Business liability shield is holding up another coronavirus bailout – a legal scholar explains why immunity is unnecessary and even harmful

Senate Republicans’ push to grant companies sweeping immunity from civil liability for failure to adequately protect workers and customers from infection has been one of the key sticking points in negotiations over another coronavirus relief bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has warned of an “avalanche” of lawsuits that will stymie economic recovery efforts if Congress does not act quickly. McConnell said he won’t let another bailout pass the Senate unless it also shields companies from coronavirus-related liability. The Senate is expected to debate their latest measure as it returns from recess on Sept. 8. My research on the role of civil lawsuits in reducing foodborne illness outbreaks suggests that fears of excessive litigation are unwarranted. What’s more, the modest liabi...

Another housing crisis is coming – and bailouts and eviction freezes won’t be enough to prevent many from losing their homes

Millions of Americans are suddenly out of work as the financial and economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic deepens. Without an income, most of these people will have a hard time covering their expenses, including keeping a roof over their heads. But even before the current crisis, tens of millions of Americans struggled to pay for housing, spending more than 30% – or even half – of their income on housing-related expenses. This leaves less money for other essentials such as food, health care and savings. Governments have offered a variety of plans to support those hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, from direct payments and higher unemployment checks to eviction freezes and mortgage relief. We are researchers who study the intersection of housing and health. While these measu...

The secondhand smoke you’re breathing may have come from another state

Scientists estimate that each year in the U.S., outdoor air pollution shortens the lives of about 100,000 people by one to two decades. As it turns out, much of this pollution originates not in a person’s own neighborhood, but up to hundreds or even thousands of miles away in neighboring states. And, absent strong federal regulations, there’s very little Americans can do about it. In a study published on Feb. 12, we used state-of-the-art modeling to estimate the number of air pollution-related deaths that combustion emissions – those from any kind of burning, from cook stoves to car engines to coal power plants – from each state have caused in every other state over the past 14 years. On average, 41% of these air pollution deaths in the U.S. resulted from what we call “secondhand smok...