On Friday, May 8, 2020, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey surprised some of us with an early revision to her “safer at home” order, and surprised us somewhat less with an attempted effort to provide some liability protections for employers who re-open. We have reviewed the orders and have some suggestions for employers who choose to re-open.

With the rapidly evolving business and community environment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, here is some basic guidance on how the pandemic could affect workers’ compensation and how employers can respond.

Employees who are unhappy with something that has happened at work often send us email messages seeking help. For example, they may complain that they have had their hours reduced, their office moved, or don’t get a lunch break. Of course, these employees don’t think what has happened is fair. They need the money from the extra hours they no longer work.