Accidents at the workplace for Covid-19: employers’ risks (Agendadigitale.eu, 19 May 2020 – Enrico De Luca and Alessandra Zilla)

The provision included in article 42, paragraph 2, of the “Cura Italia” Decree (Legislative Decree No. 18/2020) states that the Coronavirus infection contracted in the workplace is treated as an accident at work. This qualification opens the way to profiles of relevance, in term of responsibility, of the conduct attributable to the employer for non-compliance with safety standards in the workplace. As is well known, the protection of the employees’ psychophysical integrity, including from the biological risk they are exposed to in the performance of their work activities, constitutes a specific burden on the employer pursuant to Article 2087 of the Italian Civil Code.

In addition to this general rule, the special provisions contained in Legislative Decree no. 81/2008 and in the “Shared protocol to regulate measures to counter and contain the spread of Covid-19 virus in the workplace” also play a fundamental role.

In summary, under certain conditions, the violation of the provisions at issue could have repercussion on the employer and on the company including:

• the criminal liability of the employer where a causal link between the violation and the contagion can be assessed;
• the administrative responsibility of the company pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 231/2001.

Continue here to read the full version of the article in Italian language.

Source: Agendadigitale.eu