Pelosi says House won't cave to Senate on worker COVID-19 protections

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/506582-pelosi-says-house-wont-cave-to-senate-on-worker-covid-19-protections?fbclid=IwAR1HUNc68i-U9fuj_6kryLiyQuQzDgAjA6OBLw8lveDTQe-fax3rR2ptO3s


By Mike Lillis - 07/09/20 12:37 PM EDT


Pelosi says House won't cave to Senate on worker COVID-19 protections
© Greg Nash

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday rejected the notion that Democrats would cave to Republican demands to scale back legal protections for workers who face the threat of COVID-19 on the job site.

As Congress is eyeing a fifth round of coronavirus relief before the end of July, GOP leaders have pressed for a speedy reopening of the economy while insisting that businesses be protected from lawsuits by workers who get sick on the job.

Pelosi suggested Thursday that that's a non-starter.

"Don't say, 'You all have to go back to work, even if it isn't safe. And by the way, we're removing all responsibility from the employer,'" Pelosi said during a press briefing in the Capitol. "I mean that's — no."

In May, House Democrats passed a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief package that included an expansion of worker protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Senate Republicans, who had rejected similar language in earlier rounds of pandemic aid, are pressing instead for liability protections for businesses reopening amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has deemed that provision a "red line" to bring Republicans on board the next package.

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