On covid, California’s supreme court just said the quiet part out loud ko-fi.com/post/On-c…
Robert Kuciemba, a woodworker in San Francisco, was infected by covid in 2020 after his company, Victory Woodworks, based in Nevada, transferred sick workers to the San Francisco site for a few months.
Nate Bear writes:
Through the proceedings of the case it turns out that the employer knew some employees might be sick but they transferred them anyway and ignored a San Francisco ordinance in place at the time to quarantine suspected covid cases.
Kuciemba was subsequently infected and he then infected his wife, who ended up in ICU on a ventilator.
The California Supreme Court just ruled against Kuciemba on the basis that a victory, while, in the court’s words, “morally” the right thing to do, would create “dire financial consequences for employers” and cause a “dramatic expansion of liability” to stop the spread of covid.
… the court agreed that there is no doubt the company had ignored the San Francisco health ordinance. In other words, they accepted the company had broken the law. And then concluded “yeah, but, capitalism.”
…
This ruling essentially helps codify workplace mass infection and justifies it as necessary for the smooth functioning of capitalism.
Privatized profit, socialized loss. Companies get to reap the financial benefit of spreading infection, and the cost of that infection is borne by employees and taxpayers.
Via www.ianwelsh.net