COVID-19 Liability for Firms

Question A: Laws that shield firms from liability relating to injury and death resulting from COVID-19 will speed the recovery from the current recession.

Question B: Laws that shield firms from liability relating to injury and death resulting from COVID-19 will incentivize actions by firms that will increase the spread of COVID-19.

Question A: Laws that shield firms from liability relating to injury and death resulting from COVID-19 will speed the recovery from the current recession.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Uncertain	5	The tradeoffs are complicated and the devil is in the details. Too little responsibility encourages reckless behavior but too much liability can cause too much caution.
Greg Arburn	University of Findlay	Agree	10
Bizuayehu Bedane	Marietta College	Disagree	9
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Agree	9
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Strongly Disagree	10	The pandemic IS the cause of the recession. Bringing the spread of COVID-19 under control IS the solution for quicker economic recovery. Shielding firms from liability is not efficient; gives them incentives to do too little for worker protection.
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Uncertain	8
Hasan Faruq	Xavier University	Disagree	8	The outcome may be different in the short run and long run.
Robert Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Uncertain	4	The devil is in the details. It is hard to answer without a more specific law.
Nancy Haskell	University of Dayton	Uncertain	5	Depends on law details: Broad liability protection could incentivize firms to put employee health at risk (moral hazard), prolonging the pandemic and economic recovery. Liability protection contingent on following CDC guidelines, could be beneficial.
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	Agree	7
Faria Huq	Lake Erie College	Uncertain	5	Such laws would affect employers' incentives to provide much needed PPE to their employees leading to a sicker workforce. It would be difficult for employees to prove that they obtained COVID-19 from their workplace and win any kind of lawsuit.
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Agree	7	This statement is more likely to be true in environments of high unemployment.
Fadhel Kaboub	Denison University	Strongly Disagree	10	We can't have a decent recovery if workers are worried about the health risks associated with their workplace conditions. Instead of exempting employers from COVID19-related liabilities, the government can help implement CDC safety guidelines.
Bill Kosteas	Cleveland State University	Agree	7
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	6
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	6
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	6
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	Disagree	7
Michael Myler	University of Mount Union	Disagree	8	In the short term, perhaps. But in the longer run, we can expect more Covid-19 cases and a return to shut-downs.
Joseph Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Uncertain	8	Such laws may make workers think that their employers will be able to cut safety corners, and may be unwilling to return to work.
Mingming Pan	Wright State University	Strongly Disagree	10
Curtis Reynolds	Kent State University	Uncertain	5	Unclear how much liability concerns are preventing firms from hiring relative to other factors (for example, lower demand for goods/services)
Lewis Sage	Baldwin Wallace University	Uncertain	8	A law indemnifying any agent against loss generally leads to sub-optimal care. If businesses save on care, they may recover more quickly, but at the expense of customers and employees.
Dean Snyder	Antioch College	Disagree	7
Albert Sumell	Youngstown State University	Disagree	8
Melissa Thomasson	Miami University	Disagree	7
Thomas Traynor	Wright State University	Disagree	7	Low demand by consumers concerned about catching the Coronavirus is a larger drag on economic activity than low supply from firms concerned about law suits. Such laws might slow the recovery if consumers think firms become less safe (moral hazard).
Thomas Traynor	Wright State University	Disagree	7	Low demand by consumers concerned about catching the Coronavirus is a larger drag on economic activity than low supply from firms concerned about law suits. Such laws might slow the recovery if consumers think firms become less safe (moral hazard).
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Disagree	6
Mark Votruba	Case Western Reserve University	Disagree	3
Matthew Weinberg	Ohio State University	Uncertain	10
Andy Welki	John Carroll University	Agree	8
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Disagree	9	To speed the recovery the virus must be under control so people feel safe. Shielding firms from liability would be expected to reduce the safety measures firms take, increasing the spread of the virus and reducing consumer confidence.

Question B: Laws that shield firms from liability relating to injury and death resulting from COVID-19 will incentivize actions by firms that will increase the spread of COVID-19.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Agree	9	In theoretical Coasean models that assume perfect-competition, changing rights only redistributes wealth, but in the real world it also changes what gets produced. The best thing for the economy is to stop the pandemic.
Greg Arburn	University of Findlay	Disagree	10
Bizuayehu Bedane	Marietta College	Disagree	9
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Disagree	8
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Strongly Agree	10	Correct. Efficient laws would Require firms to take actions to ensure the safety of their workers or face consequences.
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Disagree	8
Hasan Faruq	Xavier University	Strongly Agree	9
Robert Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Agree	7	To the extent a firm is shielded, they might not take that extra measure.
Nancy Haskell	University of Dayton	Uncertain	5	Depends on whether the liability protection laws are contingent on following CDC guidelines, and whether following those protocols is appropriately enforced.
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	Agree	8
Faria Huq	Lake Erie College	Agree	6
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Disagree	6	Employers have an incentive to reduce COVID-19 spread since a sick or quarantined employee is not creating value for the firm.
Fadhel Kaboub	Denison University	Strongly Agree	10	The COVID-19 crisis is a reminder that we must enhance safety, health, and sanitation conditions to protect employees as well as the general public.
Bill Kosteas	Cleveland State University	Disagree	5
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	7
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	7
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	7
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	Agree	8
Michael Myler	University of Mount Union	Agree	8	If firms buy insurance policies to cover this risk, the insurance companies are likely to insist that re-openings be safe.
Joseph Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Agree	8
Mingming Pan	Wright State University	Strongly Agree	10
Curtis Reynolds	Kent State University	Uncertain	5	Absolutely could in some instances but unclear how consistent problems would be.
Lewis Sage	Baldwin Wallace University	Uncertain	5	My lack of confidence reflects my hope that protecting their reputations will lead at least smaller firms to act in the best interests of their communities.
Dean Snyder	Antioch College	Agree	7
Albert Sumell	Youngstown State University	Agree	6	I don't think it will change behavior of individual firms. Whether the spread of COVID increases as a result will depend on whether there are proper regulations (e.g. mask mandates) in place at the state level.
Melissa Thomasson	Miami University	Agree	9
Thomas Traynor	Wright State University	Agree	6	This will be true of some firms, but not others whose actions are readily visable, or are eventually learned by the public.
Thomas Traynor	Wright State University	Agree	6	This will be true of some firms, but not others whose actions are readily visable, or are eventually learned by the public.
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Agree	5
Mark Votruba	Case Western Reserve University	Uncertain	4
Matthew Weinberg	Ohio State University	Agree	5
Andy Welki	John Carroll University	Disagree	8
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Strongly Agree	10	Instituting safety measures is costly to firms. Laws to shield liability will reduce a benefit to the firm of making the safety changes (avoiding lawsuits) and thus some firms would be expected to not do the same investment in safety.