--- title: Employees are suing over workplace COVID infections. Do they have a case? - The Hustle description: A California court decided a widow and her daughters can sue her employer over workplace COVID exposure. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/273598536-News-Brief_2021-12-28T020551.429Z-scaled.webp --- # Employees are suing over workplace COVID infections. Do they have a case? ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: December 28, 2021 Updated: October 11, 2023 *A See’s Candies shop in Palm Springs, California. (Source: Robert Alexander/Getty Images)* ![Employees are suing over workplace COVID infections. Do they have a case?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/273598536-News-Brief_2021-12-28T020551.429Z-scaled.webp?width=595&height=400&name=273598536-News-Brief_2021-12-28T020551.429Z-scaled.webp) Matilde Ek worked on a packing line at See’s Candies, a California-based confectionery that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corporation has owned since 1972. Ek claims employees weren’t properly distanced, while visibly sick employees remained at work, [per](https://www.law360.com/articles/1341391/see-s-candies-worker-sues-over-husband-s-covid-19-death) *Law360*. Nothing changed, even after employees and their union brought these issues to supervisors. Ek caught the virus and passed it to her husband, who died. Now, Ek and her 3 daughters are suing See’s. #### **See’s wanted the suit dismissed…** … claiming they were only responsible for workers’ comp. But last week, a California appeals court [disagreed](https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B312241.PDF), allowing the case to move forward. #### **Could this be a trend?** It already is. There are claims against [Tyson Foods](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2021/03/15/tyson-foods-coronavirus-meatpacking-covid-deaths-lawsuits-appeals/4646508001/) in Iowa, a [mental health provider in Connecticut](https://www.law.com/ctlawtribune/2021/08/17/workplace-lawsuit-over-coronavirus-related-death-aims-to-be-exception-but-first-it-must-survive-dismissal/?slreturn=20211127142405), and a [Publix grocery store](https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2021/03/25/publix-seeks-to-muzzle-parties-in-coronavirus-wrongful-death-suit/) in Florida. In fact, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has an *entire database* of similar lawsuits [here](https://www.ncci.com/Articles/Pages/COVID-19-Court-Cases-Insights.aspx). Most are still pending, and some companies — including Tyson and Publix — have offered the same defense as See’s. Whether they’ll move forward currently lies with state courts. The See’s decision is the 1st of its kind in California,[ per](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Family-of-man-who-died-of-COVID-after-wife-s-16721015.php) *The San Francisco Chronicle*. But: - Akin to the See’s case, a Florida court dismissed Publix’s request - But a Delaware court decided a plaintiff [must file](https://riskandinsurance.com/watch-for-these-4-workers-comp-litigation-trends-in-2022/) a workers’ comp claim first - And in Texas, a [new law](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/15/texas-pandemic-negligence-business/) makes it harder for employees to sue over workplace COVID exposure So what’s next? The legal landscape isn’t clear. But with [800k+](https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/12/14/1063802370/america-us-covid-death-toll) Americans dead from COVID, more lawsuits from surviving family members against workplaces will undoubtedly follow. Topics: [Coronavirus](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/coronavirus) [Legal Issues](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/legal-issues) [Workplace Issues](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/workplace-issues) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![‘Lazy management’ vs. ‘fake work’](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1322416868-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-woman_sleeping_20230711001539.webp) ### ‘Lazy management’ vs. ‘fake work’ - ![Climbing the corporate ladder? More like scaling the noncompete wall](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/939844908-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Noncompete_20230608234933.webp) ### Climbing the corporate ladder? 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