What passed or failed? Highlights from North Dakota Legislature's 2021 session

In the months since the North Dakota Legislature convened for its 67th legislative assembly in early January, several employment-related bills reached the floor for debate. Some passed while others failed. Read on to find out more about the session's most notable employment-related bills and whether they are now part of state law.

Immunity from COVID-19 lawsuits

Predictably, COVID-19 was a prime topic during the legislative session, prompting a number of hotly contested debates. One issue was whether, and to what extent, to provide immunity from COVID-19-related lawsuits.

The North Dakota House of Representatives proposed several different bills on the topic. House Bill (HB) 1376, HB 1301, and HB 1271 failed to pass. One managed to pass both chambers, however, and was signed into law on April 20, 2021.

HB 1175, which creates a new chapter of the North Dakota Century Code, protects any person from civil liability for an act or omission resulting in someone's exposure or potential exposure to COVID-19, so long as the act or omission was in substantial compliance or consistent with federal or state statutes, regulations, or orders related to the virus in effect at the time.

HB 1175 also protects any person possessing, owning, or controlling a premises from civil liability for exposure to someone invited or permitted to be on the premises unless the person intentionally exposes another to COVID-19 or does so with actual malice. The bill has a retroactive effective date of January 1, 2020.

Mandatory vaccinations and vaccine requirements