Kuciemba et al. v. Victory Woodworks, Inc.

  • Supreme Court of California
  • Filed
  • Updated

Case Movement

Case Details

  • Case Status: Decided
  • Docket Number: S274191
  • Category: COVID-19

Issue

A spouse is suing her husband’s employer alleging that she caught a COVID-19 infection because her husband’s employer did not provide a safe work environment and he brought COVID-19 home.

October 12, 2022

The Restaurant Law Center and co-amici filed a brief in support of defendant, arguing that the Court should hold that lawsuits by employees’ family members for “take home” COVID-19 injuries are barred by the state’s workers’ compensation law and that employers do not owe a duty to protect non-employees from cases of “take home” COVID-19.

July 6, 2023

The Supreme Court of California issued its Opinion, stating that employers do not owe a duty of care to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to employees’ households. The court held that “recognizing a duty of care to nonemployees” in the context of COVID-19 “would impose an intolerable burden on employers and society in contravention of public policy.”