The bill on the new government support package included clauses that removed U.S. companies’ liability for deaths from coronavirus due to workplace safety violations
The Guardian reports that the U.S. Department of Labor has previously received requests from citizens to monitor workplace safety in the context of the pandemic. The federal government has responded to the public’s voice, but not as expected.
Instead of protecting the rights of American workers, the government intends to grant immunity to corporations. A bipartisan group of senate and House members intend to legislate against suing companies if their poor security conditions resulted in employee deaths.
It is noteworthy that the initiative is intended to be held together with the bill on state support for the population. If the law comes into force, U.S. authorities will deprive Americans of the last remaining legal instrument to achieve justice in the labor market, The Guardian writes.
Corporate lobbyists have done a good job of breathing life into such a controversial idea. It spread to state legislatures after a group of lobbyists transferred a million dollars to New York Democrat and Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The Republicans in the Senate then literally copied Cuomo’s bill and inserted it in their latest stimulus proposal. However, no party is in a position to implement this federal law on its own. Strange as it may seem, the Democrats and Republicans here found a common language and united to help their corporate donors.
Now lawmakers claim that the measure is temporary, but experts call it a ruse. Analysts believe the bill gives Congress a delay to pass a law that would permanently deny workers the right to sue employers for workplace safety violations, even if it resulted in death.