Trial News

A majority of voters across the political spectrum oppose granting businesses immunity from lawsuits arising from COVID-19, according to a new national poll conducted by Hart Research Associates. The poll shows that legislation with guaranteed immunity for businesses is widely unpopular with voters, who are concerned that more people will be exposed to the new coronavirus if businesses that reopen and employers that bring employees back to work cannot be held accountable for failing to take proper precautions.

A majority of voters overall oppose immunity, including 72% of Democrats, 64% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans. More than half of President Trump supporters and 73% of undecided voters oppose immunity.

The survey also asked whether respondents had lost jobs and income due to the pandemic, with 42% saying they had. And a majority of those workers oppose immunity even though it may mean being able to return to work sooner. The poll’s data indicates widespread concern that when reopening the economy, businesses will take shortcuts in protecting workers and that more people will be exposed to the virus as a result.

Respondents also were presented with two statements:

• “It is a good idea to give corporations and businesses guaranteed immunity from coronavirus lawsuits, because businesses could reopen and put people back to work without being liable if their customers or workers are exposed.”
• “It is a bad idea to give corporations and businesses guaranteed immunity from coronavirus lawsuits, because some companies would not take the proper precautions if they knew they could not be held accountable.”

After viewing both statements, 69% of voters were persuaded that guaranteeing immunity is a bad idea—and the percentages of Republicans and Trump supporters who oppose immunity rose after seeing both statements.

“As Leader McConnell and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce push their decades-old agenda while American lives are on the line, the numbers show that the majority of people, across party lines, believe immunity won’t help fix the economy and in fact will just prolong the pandemic. People won’t want to go back to work or shop at a store unless they feel safe, and that means ensuring that corporations can be held accountable if they don’t take proper precautions,” said AAJ CEO Linda Lipsen.

Read the poll results at https://tinyurl.com/y9e5ceqg.

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