Exploring COVID-19 workers’ comp liability of Florida employers

Florida’s chief financial officer issued Directive 2020-05 granting a rebuttable presumption that the virus was contracted within the scope of employment to limited, selective groups of “frontline state employees.” (Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock)

Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation issued a memorandum on April 6 to provide guidance on workers’ compensation issues related to COVID-19. The memo states, “First responders, health care workers and others that contract COVID-19 due to work-related exposure would be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under Florida law See Section 440.151, Fla Statute,” the statute otherwise known as Florida’s occupational disease theory.

Still, the complexities of determining whether the virus was work-related are a difficult challenge claimants must face when bringing a COVID-19-related workers’ compensation claim.