Crisis Averted: California Employers Are Not Liable For "Take-Home" COVID Cases

• Published date: 13 July 2023
• Law Firm: Proskauer Rose LLP
• Author: Mr Jonathan Slowik and Morgan J. Peterson

Last week, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that employers are not liable to nonemployees who contract COVID-19 from employee household members that bring the virus home from their workplace, because "[a]n employer does not owe a duty of care under California law to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to employees' household members." Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc., No. S274191 (Cal. July 6, 2023), slip op. at 49.

We previously covered the Kuciemba action here, but as a reminder, the Ninth Circuit certified two questions to the California Supreme Court: (1) If an employee contracts...