Employers not at fault when employees transmit COVID-19 to nonemployees

On July 6, 2023, the California Supreme Court issued its ruling that employers aren’t legally responsible in preventing the spread of COVID-19 to nonemployee household members who contracted the virus as a result of exposure to an employee who, in turn, contracted the virus at work. This decision is undoubtedly good news for employers, who for years now have been operating under a concern of potential liability for injuries that they, to a large extent, cannot control. The court’s decision reflects a sensible policy position that tort (wrongful act) liability schemes are a poor mechanism for handling the fallout from a global pandemic. While the court’s employee-friendly bona fides are well established, this decision recognizes a commonsense liability boundary where the implications of recognizing a duty of care for tort purposes would do far more harm than good.