The hospitality industry is among the most heavily affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic. After being closed or operating on a substantially limited basis since March, many hotels and restaurants have reopened across Georgia. When these businesses initially reopened, one of the primary concerns voiced by business owners was a potential explosion of lawsuits related to claims that a customer, employee or other member of the public contracted COVID-19 on their premises. On Aug. 5, in hopes of alleviating these concerns, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law Senate Bill 359, the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act.

SB 359 protects businesses, property owners, health care providers and nonprofits from liability for “transmission, infection, exposure or potential exposure of COVID-19” on their premises unless the claimant proves that the business acted with “gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, reckless infliction of harm, or intentional infliction of harm.” SB 359 also creates a rebuttable presumption of assumption of risk by any claimant if a business posts a sign at the premises’ point of entry in at least one-inch Arial font placed apart from any other text stating: