High Court Finds No Duty for Employers to Prevent Spread of COVID-19 Beyond Workers

California employers do not owe a duty of care to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to employees’ household members, the state’s high court ruled Thursday. While the derivative injury rule of California’s workers’ compensation law doesn’t bar a spouse’s negligence claim against an employer, the high court said public policy considerations weigh against imposing a duty of care on employers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 outside of the workplace. “Imposing on employers a tort duty to each employee’s household members to prevent the spread of this...