Covid Workplace Litigation Continuing to See Steady Increase

Covid-related lawsuits specific to the workplace are continuing to rise, according to a new study, with expectations that the upward trendline will continue well into 2022.

A study released by the Alexandria, Virginia-based Society for Resource Management shows that as of the end of last summer there had been more than 444 Covid 19 workplace lawsuits.

During the same June to August time period this year, that number had increased to 715.

The report additionally notes that “the first eight months of the year have averaged 253 new claims filed per month, compared to 159 new lawsuits filed in the final eight months of 2020.”

Those new lawsuits represent a 59% increase in litigation activity.

Where the lawsuits have been filed appear to generally track the nation’s demographic profile with California seeing 895 cases, followed by New Jersey at 416, and Florida at 232.

States in the West have generally recorded a smaller amount of litigation, with 24 cases filed in Arizona, 43 in Colorado, and 25 in New Mexico.

The lawsuits are specific to a broad swath of industries, with healthcare seeing by far the greatest number of cases at nearly 768, followed by retail at 334, and manufacturing at 285.

The construction industry has been hit, too, but is still somewhat down the list with 177 cases.

One of the smallest numbers has so far been recorded in the warehousing and storage industry with, to date, only seven lawsuits.

The cases themselves revolve around everything from remote work and leave issues, to employment discrimination and whistleblower matters.

The outlook for additional workplace Covid 19 lawsuits, according to a website maintained by the Atlanta-based law firm Fisher Philips, remains murky.

Noting both the speed of law changes on the subject as well as an ongoing “ambiguity on how to manage certain situations,” the law firm predicts that employers “will continue to be a hot target for labor and employment litigation arising from Covid 19 in the coming months.”

​By Garry Boulard

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