Covid-19 Labor and Employment Litigation

By Claire Kang

Troy High School

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in early 2020, businesses have been facing serious consequences. Business owners were forced to follow shut down orders, in fear of rapid spread. Employers are forced to implement the mandatory state, federal, and agency orders, ranging from shutdowns to shelter-in-place orders. Not only businesses, but also people in corporate businesses, including employees and employers have been facing litigation related to COVID-19. As businesses slow down and eventually close down, employees are losing jobs that brought income to provide necessities for their families or themselves. This has led to the increased number of Covid-19 litigation, as the pandemic is progressing for more than a year. Victoria Choi, a junior from Troy High School states, “The pandemic definitely affected all employers and employees to a certain degree. While some were able to work safely at home, they also had to adapt to a more technological lifestyle. Many also lost their jobs because of the pandemic.”

The Covid-19 Employment Litigation Tracker is used to record the number of lawsuit cases that were related to COVID-19 and the traditional employer to employee. It is recorded that employers with 50 or fewer employees have been sued at a greater rate than larger business employers, reaching nearly 38% of all COVID-19 lawsuits. Statistically speaking, there have been 1,348 cases from the United States, of which include more than 200 cases from California. These litigations have been directed toward banks and employers to seek suspension of loan repayment, debt collection, and relief for monetary damages. In addition, programs and institutions are facing cases regarding litigation in response to campus closures, university tuition, room, board, other student fees. However, this is only a small part in the overall impact that this pandemic has caused for business owners and the national economy.

It should be our concern as a nation to mitigate the impact that businesses are facing in the first place. Especially after more than a millions workers were faced with unemployment, this issue is certainly a weakness for our incapability to cope and decrease the impact. Sean Son, a 10th grader at Troy High School mentions, “I think the pandemic has made it very difficult for people to maintain their jobs as employees quitting or leaving makes shifts very difficult for others.” Without a doubt, this pandemic has already ruined a lot of businesses for the lack of customers and access to supply chains. It would be in our best interest to find ways to support local businesses by maybe taking takeout at a nearby restaurant, using social media platforms to share information about a business, or even using a service -- of course, with precaution.