Michigan House Votes To Give Businesses Protections Against COVID-19 Lawsuits

LANSING – Businesses are reopening from the coronavirus pandemic into a “wild, wild COVID west” economic climate, Rep. Graham Filler (R-DeWitt) told the House floor Wednesday as he advocated for more protections against COVID-19 lawsuits he described as frivolous.

Wednesday’s climate includes “fewer employees, supply chain issues, razor thin margins and the prospect of business bankrupting lawsuits,” he said.

“If a business or university . . . follows state health guidelines, they would be provided some protection from frivolous lawsuits,” Filler explained of the four-bill package. “The truth is businesses are open. They are reopening and they are reinvesting as we speak. We all know it.”

But some owners are “deathly afraid” they are not going to make it through 2020 or 2021, he said.

The House voted 57-49 to approve the main bill, HB 6030, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Albert (R-Lowell). Also in the package are HB 6031, by Rep. Tommy Brann (R-Wyoming), and HB 6101, by Rep. Wendell L. Byrd (D-Detroit).