"Take Home Covid" Cases: Where Are We Now?

• Publication year: 2024
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 1
• Author: TOM RICHARD, ESQ.

"Take Home COVID" Cases: Where Are We Now?

TOM RICHARD, ESQ.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

In the ever-evolving landscape of California law, a pivotal question has arisen in the last few years regarding the COVID pandemic: If your spouse or family member comes home from work sick with COVID, and then you develop the illness, can you sue your spouse's employer for that illness allegedly brought home from work?

This article delves into the recent developments from the California Supreme Court's "take home COVID" cases and explores the delicate balance between the exclusive remedy rule and the duty of care.

THE LEGAL JOURNEY OF "TAKE HOME COVID" CASES

Last July, California's Supreme Court addressed "take home COVID" lawsuits filed against employers, rejecting the notion that the exclusive remedy rule barred such lawsuits. However, the court sided with employers in the end by introducing a new exception to the state's broad "duty of care" doctrine, ultimately safeguarding employers from such lawsuits.

The journey began with an appeal by See's Candies to the Second District Court of Appeal in 2021. A trial court rejected See's Motion to Dismiss a lawsuit brought by the estate of a See's employee's late husband. The See's employee contracted COVID, filed a workers' comp claim, and was sent home to convalesce. While the employee was sick at home, the husband came down with COVID and ultimately died from the disease. The estate sued See's for the husband's wrongful death, a "take home COVID" lawsuit.

The Court of Appeal, in denying See's Motion to Dismiss based on the "exclusive remedy rule" defense, agreed with the trial court that the exclusive remedy rule did not bar the late husband's...