• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Watch: Litigation in the Pandemic: Who’s Suing Whom?
VIDEO

Watch: Litigation in the Pandemic: Who’s Suing Whom?

July 31, 2020
Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Jim Swartz, partner with the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, discusses the findings of new research into emerging trends in COVID-19-related employment litigation.

With the coming of the pandemic come the inevitable lawsuits, and the flood of employment-related litigation has only just begun. The initial wave of cases largely involves employees claiming to have been placed into unsafe work environments. Additional claims allege failure to accommodate disabilities, discrimination against older workers, and disputes over wages and working hours. In the case of the last, arguments often center on how employees are being paid when they work from home or other remote locations.

The burden of proof in such cases can be heavy. How do plaintiffs prove that they were infected with COVID-19 while on the job? Swartz says state courts tend to be more open to considering such claims, which might range from negligence to wrongful death. There, the big issues will center on causation, how the disease was contracted, and whether it was “reasonably foreseeable” for the complaining employee to get it on the job.

The law provides traditional criteria for determining negligence, based in part on what “standard of care” the employer owes its employees. Typically, the decision is framed by rules issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as other federal and state authorities. In response, Swartz says, many employers are taking “extraordinary” measures to protect their workers from infection, even to the point of exceeding regulatory guidelines.

Many of the lawsuits are likely to come in the form of class actions, but what constitutes a legitimate class for that purpose could be subject to dispute. For a wage-and-hour claim, it will likely consist of a group of employees with the same employer, subject to federal and state definitions.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Coronavirus HR & Labor Management Regulation & Compliance SC Security & Risk Mgmt
KEYWORDS Coronavirus HR & Labor Management Regulation & Compliance SC Security & Risk Mgmt
  • Related Articles

    Watch: Redesigning Office Space in the Post-Pandemic Era

    Watch: Managing the Drug Cold Chain in the Pandemic

    Watch: Keeping Up With the FDA During the Pandemic

  • Related Events

    Post-Pandemic Impacts on Food & Beverage Businesses and How to Ensure Resiliency

    Building a hyperconnected supply chain: The three levers of transformation

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Crafting a New Transportation Bill: The Battle Begins

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Biden Unveils National Strategy; Pfizer Says It’s Willing to Sell Vaccine to States

    Coronavirus
  • container port

    New Global Visibility App Sees Delays Before They Happen

    Logistics
  • Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Watch: Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Coronavirus
  • U.S. Vaccine Rollout Hindered by Faulty Coordination, Messaging

    WHO Fumes at Western Drugmakers As China Fills Vaccine Void

    Coronavirus
  • Smartphones

    Podcast | Why We Need to Ramp Up Recycling of Old Tech

    Logistics

Digital Edition

Scb home issue 27

2020 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

  • LSP Wows Global Client, Quickly Advances to Become End-to-End Provider

Visit Our Sponsors

6 River Systems ArcBest Armada
aThingz BluJay Burris Logistics
DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) DHL Resilience360
Genpact GEP Honeywell Intelligrated
Infor Logility Magnitude Software
MPO Old Dominion Oliver Wight
OpenSky Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
TGW Systems Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam Yang Ming
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing