The California Supreme Court held last week that a California employer does not owe a duty of care to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to members of an employee’s household. In a unanimous decision, Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc., the Court held that although claims brought by an employee’s family member for negligence in relation to the family member contracting COVID-19 from an employee who became infected at work are not barred by the exclusivity provision of the California Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA), public policy considerations weigh against imposing a tort-based duty to non-employees.
Robert Kuciemba began working for Victory Woodworks, Inc. (Victory) at a construction site in San Francisco in May 2020, shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an essential business, Victory was permitted to operate subject to health and safety guidelines prescribed by the City and County of San Francisco’s health order in place at the time. Kuciemba became infected with the virus after being required to work in close contact with a group of workers Victory transferred, without taking the required precautions, from another site where they may have been exposed. He carried the virus home to his wife, who developed very serious complications, was hospitalized for several weeks and, at one point, kept alive on a respirator.