Sangamon Sun

Small businesses that are members of NFIB-IL support legislation that will help protect small business owners across the state from trial attorneys who are looking to profit from the pandemic, a survey found.

NFIB-IL asked its members, who are small business owners, their thoughts on legislation and found that 97.6% of respondents hope that legislation will pass that protects them from COVID-19-related lawsuits, according to the news release.

“Small businesses are especially vulnerable to groundless claims even in the best of times, and these are hardly the best of times,” NFIB State Director Mark Grant said in a news release. “The pandemic has taken an enormous toll on small businesses.”

Grant said in the news release that trial attorneys are targeting small businesses.

“Illinois can’t afford to allow insatiable trial attorneys to target small businesses when they’re at their most vulnerable, especially when they’re following the rules and doing everything they can to keep customers and employees safe,” Grant said in the news release.

Of the respondents, 91.5% said they believed the state’s laws should align more with federal laws regarding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and stopping states from taxing forgiven PPP loans.

The survey also found that 78.7% want the General Assembly to clarify the governor’s powers pertaining to emergencies and 78.4% want employees who test positive for COVID-19 to not be automatically compensated through workers’ compensation insurance.

“COVID-19 dominated the financial landscape in 2020 and is the single most important issue affecting Illinois small businesses in 2021,” Grant said in the news release. “Our members are sending a clear message to the House and Senate and Governor Pritzker: Do everything possible to help Illinois’ small businesses get through this unprecedented crisis and keep people working.”