Hofstra University: Stop Lobbying Congress for Corporate Immunity

Stuart Rabinowitz, President of Hofstra University

We demand that Hofstra University agree to stop lobbying Congress for corporate immunity, refrain from requiring students and workers to waive liability upon reopening campus, and oppose corporate immunity legislation that is being pushed in our name.

Hofstra University is a member of a powerful industry group that is lobbying Congress to pass sweeping corporate immunity legislation that would shield big employers and companies, including colleges and universities, from COVID-19 related lawsuits during the pandemic and potentially for years afterward.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has already killed 130,000 people — and shows no sign of stopping. If we come back to campus, it has to be safely. We are afraid that our fellow students and staff could be subjected to unsafe conditions in classrooms when we know that the virus spreads faster inside. We care about people in our community who have been disproportionately impacted by this virus, including workers of color and people with underlying conditions, and know that corporate immunity will only further jeopardize safety on campus. Lobbying for corporate immunity destroys our trust in the message that our safety as students, staff, and campus workers is the paramount concern of our university.

Workers, nursing home patients, and people of color across the country are already getting sick and dying because corporations won’t take basic safety precautions. Corporate immunity would mean we couldn’t hold them accountable.

But the corporate immunity legislation that ACE is lobbying for in Hofstra’s name would give businesses and universities a free pass to recklessly expose students and workers to COVID-19 — for example, by failing to institute social distancing in classrooms and offices, or failing to provide PPE to students and workers.

Additionally, workers of color are disproportionately employed in higher-risk jobs, including working on university campuses. Against the backdrop of the historical movement we are in, support for corporate immunity or liability waivers for workers and students is antithetical to the sustained efforts of the BLM movement to address systemic injustice and imbalances of power. Moreover, the Trump Administration even threatened to deport any immigrant students who were not taking in-person classes and would have forced students to choose between their immigration status and their safety — driving home how corporate immunity will hurt immigrant communities most.

We are calling on Hofstra University to:

  • Stop lobbying for corporate immunity;

  • Announce Hofstra’s opposition to corporate immunity;

  • Pledge not to require students and workers to waive liability in order to come back to school in the future.





Sources: (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5ef9ffc9534eba0260f31f92/1593442249264/No+Corporate+Immunity.pdf) (https://www.peoplesparity.org/opposecorporateimmunityforschools/)

(https://www.nelp.org/publication/testimony-rebecca-dixon-examining-liability-covid-19-pandemic/)

(https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/opinion/coronavirus-liability-business-safety.html)

(https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/05/29/senator-murray-opposes-request-college-groups-liability-protection)

To: Stuart Rabinowitz, President of Hofstra University
From: [Your Name]

We demand that Hofstra University agree to stop lobbying Congress for corporate immunity, refrain from requiring students and workers to waive liability upon reopening campus, and oppose corporate immunity legislation that is being pushed in our name.

Hofstra University is a member of a powerful industry group that is lobbying Congress to pass sweeping corporate immunity legislation that would shield big employers and companies, including colleges and universities, from COVID-19 related lawsuits during the pandemic and potentially for years afterward.

Workers, nursing home patients, and people of color across the country are already getting sick and dying because corporations won’t take basic safety precautions. Corporate immunity would mean we couldn’t hold them accountable.

But the corporate immunity legislation that ACE is lobbying for in Hofstra’s name would give businesses and universities a free pass to recklessly expose students and workers to COVID-19 — for example, by failing to institute social distancing in classrooms and offices, or failing to provide PPE to students and workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already killed 130,000 people — and shows no sign of stopping. If we come back to campus, it has to be safely. We are afraid that our fellow students and staff could be subjected to unsafe conditions in classrooms when we know that the virus spreads faster inside. We care about people in our community who have been disproportionately impacted by this virus including workers of color and people with underlying conditions and know that corporate immunity will only further jeopardize their safety on campus. Lobbying for corporate immunity destroys our trust in the message that our safety as students, staff, and campus workers is the paramount concern of our university.

Additionally, workers of color are disproportionately employed in higher-risk jobs, including working on university campuses. Against the backdrop of the historical movement we are in, support for corporate immunity or liability waivers for workers and students is antithetical to the sustained efforts of the BLM movement to address systemic injustice and imbalances of power. Moreover, the Trump Administration even threatened to deport any immigrant students who were not taking in-person classes and would have forced students to choose between their immigration status and their safety — driving home how corporate immunity will hurt immigrant communities most.

We are calling on Hofstra University to:

1. Stop lobbying for corporate immunity;

2. Announce Hofstra’s opposition to corporate immunity;

3. Pledge and not to require students and workers to waive liability in order to come back to school in the future.

Sources: (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5ef9ffc9534eba0260f31f92/1593442249264/No+Corporate+Immunity.pdf) (https://www.peoplesparity.org/opposecorporateimmunityforschools/)

(https://www.nelp.org/publication/testimony-rebecca-dixon-examining-liability-covid-19-pandemic/)

(https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/opinion/coronavirus-liability-business-safety.html)

(https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/05/29/senator-murray-opposes-request-college-groups-liability-protection)