California Employer Liability Limited for Spousal Covid-19 (1)

California employers don’t owe a duty of care under state law to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to employees’ household members, a unanimous state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The court also ruled that worker’s compensation exclusive limits on recovery don’t bar household members’ negligence claims against the employer, but created an exception to the general duty of care for Covid.

Justices, answering a question referred by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, held that even limiting the state law, which says employers owe a duty to protect workers, to an employees’ household members creates a pool of ...