Bill to protect La. restaurants from coronavirus lawsuits signed into law

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - On Monday, June 15, Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill into law protecting restaurants from liability when it comes to the coronavirus.

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Now that the bill has been signed, residents cannot file a lawsuit against a restaurant and accuse them of giving them the coronavirus, either through food preparation or serving of the food.

The bill, SB 508 proposed by State Sen. Patrick McMath (R-Covington), protects restaurants going all the way back to March 11 and until Gov. Edwards officially ends the public health emergency.

Dine-in, takeout, drive-thru, and delivery food service are all be protected by the new law.

There are some exceptions for negligence on the part of the restaurant, though a judge would ultimately decide what that means.

The idea was widely supported by state legislators as a way to protect restaurants that are already hurting because of the coronavirus pandemic and economic shutdown.

For more on the bill, click here.

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