As the COVID economy reopens, should you protect your business with a waiver?

There are many occupations and industries in which the COVID-19 6-foot social distancing recommendation of the CDC is impractical or impossible to meet. This is true for beauticians, barbers, massage therapists, servers, personal trainers, and bus and taxi drivers, just to name a few.

With the higher-than-usual transmission rate of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus, in certain instances, having your clients/customers sign or accept electronically a properly-prepared risk assumption waiver document may help inoculate your business from such future liability claims.

Below are some of the aspects of doing such that a business owner may want to consider:

PROS

  • Enforced widely
  • Notifies of self-protect obligations
  • Helps establish safeguards
  • Needed when distancing is impractical
  • Used widely already in sports and healthcare

CONS

  • Suggests poor hygiene
  • Hurts first impression
  • Consumes costly time
  • Creates more recordkeeping
  • Exemptions may come by future laws

We are willing to share a reference-only copy of a risk assumption form commonly used for various sporting activities, which could be individually modified for your business. To request a copy, please contact Steve Theising (stheising@kddk.com) or Mike Schopmeyer (mschopmeyer@KDDK.com) of the KDDK business law team, who can also provide additional information or individualized guidance on this and other matters related to COVID-19.


The article featured here and all content on this website is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice on any particular matter. KDDK will continue to provide updates about major federal and state measures addressing the ever-developing COVID-19 pandemic; please always reference the date and time a particular article was posted. Please contact your legal counsel for additional information and individualized guidance regarding how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to your specific circumstances.

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