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Article
Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post
By
Wendy Rhodes
Published December 9, 2020
WEST PALM BEACH — Bickering over coronavirus relief for Americans in
Washington centered on an issue with particular importance to Floridians:
protections for companies, especially small businesses, from COVID-19
liability lawsuits.
In Florida, where small and medium-sized businesses
predominate, advocates say coronavirus lawsuit fears are more acute than
other states.
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On Wednesday, in fact, Florida’s chief
financial officer, Jimmy Patronis held a “Rally at the
Restaurant Business Liability Tour” at Pistache French
Bistro on Clematis Street to propose a way to stimulate
Florida’s economy and get people back to eating at
restaurants again.
Patronis, a restauranteur himself, said the best way to do
that is to pass legislation that will “ensure businesses are
not open to frivolous lawsuits.” He aimed to stop “sue and
settle,” which he said is an age-old tactic used by
attorneys looking to make a quick buck at the expense of
small business owners.
Partisan coronavirus stimulus package, instead saying he and
President Donald Trump would support McConnell’s own
stimulus package that included pandemic-related liability
protection for businesses and tax write-offs for business
meals.
By the end of the week, the compromise
bill was moving forward again, including a six-month
liability shield for businesses from coronavirus-related
lawsuits. It is a shield proponents say is necessary for
businesses to reopen without the fear of costly litigation
exposure.By the end of the week, the compromise bill was
moving forward again, including a six-month liability shield
for businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits. It is a
shield proponents say is necessary for businesses to reopen
without the fear of costly litigation exposure. |
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Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
spoke to local legislators and business leaders in West Palm Beach
on Wednesday.
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Pro-business groups like the Florida Chamber of Commerce are
calling for protections, perhaps by increasing the standard
for COVID-related liability to gross negligence or
intentional bad conduct by a firm and proposing a tougher
“clear and convincing” standard to establish liability,
rather than just a preponderance of evidence that a company
acted badly.
But other organizations, such as the Florida Justice
Association that represents trial lawyers in the state,
oppose the measures, saying there is little proof that
businesses are facing increased litigation. Plus, they say,
such changes to lawsuit standards would reward businesses
that fail to take reasonable measures.
As COVID-19 deaths in Florida rapidly approach 20,000, and
one in four businesses have closed since the pandemic began,
the state is now pushing full steam ahead on its own
economic stimulus plan.
“We have got to support small businesses, and we have got to
support employees who want to get back to work,” Patronis
said. “We must get tourism back on its feet.”
Tourism is particularly important to Palm Beach County,
making up one-third of the county’s economy, said Michele
Jacobs, president of the Economic Council of Palm Beach
County.
In 2017, attractions such as theme parks, cruise lines,
sporting events, sightseeing and boating boosted Florida's
economy by almost $86 billion, reported visitflorida.com,
making tourism a vital component of the state's economic
recovery plan.
“We all can agree the possibilities in Florida were
limitless,” Patronis said the state’s economy in January.
“Coronavirus has changed all of this.”
Thierry Beaud, the owner of Pistache and two other local
restaurants, said his bistro took a big hit during
coronavirus shutdowns. Beaud carried business interruption
insurance, for which he pays a “high premium,” he said, but
the insurance companies would not pay.
Patronis’ plan was unclear about precisely what business
owners would be protected from, but it appears to protect
them from liability in the event patrons or employees
contract COVID-19. Patronis also said clear and simple rules
should be made by legislators, not “unelected bureaucrats.”
In addition, Patronis said, any employer who is “willfully
negligent and puts their employees at risk,” should “face
the consequences,” but he does not delineate what actions
would be considered willful negligence or what those
consequences should be.
Businesses in Florida will certainly need every advantage
they can get in 2021, as the Florida Department of Revenue
announced a hike in the reemployment tax rate. Formerly
called the uninsurance tax rate, the new minimum tax rate
will go to $20.30 per employee as of Jan. 1, 2021 — up from
$7 in 2020.
Florida Rep. Rick Roth (R-West Palm Beach) said the
reverberations from a slowdown in restaurant business can be
felt throughout the county.
“He’s a restaurant guy, and I’m the guy that grows the food
that goes to the restaurant,” Roth said, referring to
Patronis. Roth Farms, based in Belle Glade, is a
family-owned farming concern in operation since 1962. “We
need to work together. We had farmers losing millions and
millions of dollars because restaurants could not open up.”
Roth said that today, Florida has become the “most beloved
and recognized state in the United States,” as evidenced, he
said, by the number of people moving here and “buying homes,
sight unseen, online.”
“This economy is heating up and we have to be prepared for
it,” he said of the importance of passing Patronis’ proposed
legislation.
Democratic state Sen. Bobby Powell speaks at event in West
Palm Beach held by Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis on Wednesday.
State Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, agreed that getting the state’s
economy on track is a top priority but also said the state needs to do its
part to keep people safe from the virus.
“We just passed Thanksgiving and a lot of people are starving,” he said of
the many Floridians who are still not working or continue to struggle
financially. “We must put safeguards and strategies in place that put
everybody first and help our communities and businesses move forward so our
economy continues to recover in a robust manner.”
As far as protecting customers and employees from infection, Florida House
member John Snyder, R-Jupiter, a small business owner, said he believes
small businesses can make their own decisions about safety.
“As business owners, we take better care of our people than the government
will ever mandate that we do,” he said. “We are already focused on keeping
our employees and customers safe.”
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