AAU joined ACE and 76 other higher education organizations on a letter to House and Senate leaders urging them to include S. 4317, the “SAFE TO WORK Act,” in the forthcoming pandemic relief measure. The SAFE TO WORK Act would provide temporary and targeted protections from potentially meritless COVID-19 lawsuits against colleges and universities that are working to safeguard students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The organizations go on to say that while Congress has provided COVID-19 liability protections for healthcare providers and personal protective equipment manufacturers in the CARES Act – and some states have enacted pandemic liability protections of their own – a national solution is critical to provide greater certainty to colleges and universities as they plan to reopen.