Sponsors (6)
The bill trades reduced liability risk, lower litigation/insurance exposure, and greater legal predictability for property owners and contractors on federally assisted projects against reduced recovery and local legal remedies for injured workers, potential weakening of safety incentives, and a shift of disputes into federal courts.
Property owners, contractors, and taxpayers on federally assisted projects face lower liability risk and likely lower insurance and settlement costs because strict (absolute) liability is replaced by a comparative-negligence framework applied under federal jurisdiction.
People and businesses involved in federally assisted projects get a more predictable, uniform legal standard (federal exclusive jurisdiction) that reduces state-by-state litigation unpredictability.
States that accept federal assistance must apply comparative negligence, which allocates fault among parties and can lower outsized judgments against owners and contractors.
Construction workers and other injured individuals may have reduced ability to recover damages compared with strict-liability standards, lowering compensation outcomes for some injury victims outside workers' compensation.
States and local governments lose authority to impose stricter absolute-liability protections on federally assisted projects, limiting local legal remedies for injured parties.
Reducing owners' and contractors' liability exposure could weaken incentives for rigorous safety practices on site, potentially increasing the risk of elevation- or gravity-related injuries absent other enforcement.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Preempts State absolute-liability rules for elevation/gravity risks on federally connected projects and requires comparative negligence instead.
Official title: To preclude absolute liability in any action against a property owner or contractor for projects receiving Federal financial assistance for infrastructure and transportation development, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Nicholas A. Langworthy · Last progress May 21, 2025
Prohibits strict (absolute) liability claims tied to elevation or gravity-related risks on projects that receive Federal financial assistance, Federal tax incentives, or Federal permits, and requires States to apply comparative-negligence rules instead when negligence is a proximate cause. It preempts State laws that impose absolute liability for such risks on covered federally connected projects, vests exclusive jurisdiction in Federal courts for claims under the Act, preserves State workers’ compensation, defines key terms, and applies to projects accepting Federal assistance on or after January 1, 2026.