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Credit Union Times

NOVEMBER 25, 2020 | VOL. 31 | NO. 22 | CUTIMES.COM

Must Reads

CU MANAGEMENT

COVID Lawsuits Emerge

As coronavirus infections surgeacross the country, some courtsare grappling with a novel type oflegal question: Can an employeewho contracts COVID- 19 recoverdamages from an employer forfailing to mitigate the risks ofcontracting the virus?

A handful of employers havealready been hit with litigationin connection with employeeswho became sick, and who claimsafety precautions were missingfrom the workplace.

But major hurdles face suchsuits, from causation to the standard of proof under the workers’compensation law, some lawyerssaid.

Negligence Claims

New Jersey Transit is facing anegligence and wrongful deathsuit by the family of a commutertrain conductor who died afterallegedly contracting COVID- 19on the job. The suit, filed Oct. 22in Essex County Superior Courtand first reported on NJ.com,said Joseph Hansen contractedthe virus in March. He felt ill butNew Jersey Transit instructedhim to continue working, the suitclaimed. He later gave the virusto his wife, Denise Hansen, dueto New Jersey Transit’s failure toenact safety guidelines and useprotective equipment, accordingto the suit.

The Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. is also facing awrongful death suit on behalf ofa worker who died after Y16

CUs Should
Plan for
Uncertainty
JIM DUPLESSIS
jduplessis@cutimes.com

hen Callahan& Associatesheld its quarterly Trendwatchwebinar earlier this year on Feb.13, it celebrated a fourth quarter capping off one of the movement’s most successful decades ofgrowth and member engagement.

But that environment changedradically within weeks as COVID- 19 became a clear threat andwas declared a pandemic March11.

The change can be seen in overall numbers from Callahan’s quarterly estimates that arrive two orthree weeks before the NCUA releases bulk data, and from Top 10data compiled by CU Times fromCall Reports released about amonth after the end of the quarter.

Loan loss provisions have beenup sharply all year for both theTop 10 and other credit unions,slicing into net income. But then,as CUNA economist Mike Schenksaid, net income for credit unionsis a war chest to be used (but notused up) to help members bridgehard times. The coming monthsmight be a time to draw morefrom that war chest.

Schenk said this final quarter of2020 will be rougher because therapid rise in COVID- 19 infectionsis causing people to hunker Y18

ECONOMIC TRENDS FOCUSREPORT:CUS & 2020

ELECTIONRESULTS

America has elected a new presidentand vice president, but the regulatoryfuture for CUs is still uncertain. In thisFocus Report, experts weigh in onpossible scenarios that could unfold atthe NCUA, the CFPB and in Congress,and what they could mean for theindustry. Y6

HelpingBusinesses WinFocus on embeddedfinance. Y12

Meeting

Pandemic EraChallenges

Look to datascience foranswers. Y7

fter launching a newbrand identity in themiddle of a pandemic,

New York’s secondlargest financial cooperative hasambitious plans to expand nationally.

In an interview with CU Times,
the $8.2 billion Teachers Federal
Credit Union President/CEO Brad
Calhoun, a former executive for
Bank of America
and the $14.4 bil-
lion First Tech Fed-
eral Credit Union
in San Jose, Calif.,
said the planning
process for the
national strategy
began in earnest
soon after he took the helm in
June of 2019 upon Robert G. Al-
len’s retirement.

Without revealing too many
details about the national rollout,
Calhoun indicated it is already
underway.

“I would say we’re still in the infrastructure and planning stages.We have, through other avenues,already been growing throughsome of our fintech partnershipswith Happy Money, Splash andsome other parties,” Calhounsaid. “So we’re already growingin many other states from hereto California to Florida, but as faras targeted states we’re lookingto make a more concerted