The holiday season is a time to spread cheer and a festive spirit. But holiday celebrations can also mean increased liability for workers' compensation, discrimination, harassment, and third party injuries.
While each state has its own laws, the key question to trigger workers' compensation coverage is whether the injury was "within the course and scope of employment." Opinions have differed on the parameters of course and scope of employment, but some common factors that apply include, but are not limited to, mandatory attendance (expressed or implied), celebrations during working hours, events held on employer's premises, events where employees are recognized or given bonuses, and events that include vendors or customers.
Here are a few examples. In Minnesota, an employee was out on medical leave for a non-work-related injury, but received an invitation to the annual dinner and to receive her turkey. When receiving her turkey she slipped and fell in the parking lot, and the Minnesota Supreme Court found that the employer directed the employee to come to the premises to obtain the turkey, which was a form of bonus compensation.
In California, all company sponsored events fall within course and scope, because they benefit the employer by improving employee morale and furthering employer-employee relations. Furthermore, a 2013 case, Purton v. Marriott, Int'l, Inc., found the employer liable for an employee who took his own liquor to a company party, which had restricted serving to beer and wine and two drinks. He became intoxicated, went home, and later drove an intoxicated coworker home and struck a vehicle, killing its driver. The court found as long as the proximate cause (intoxication) was within the course and scope of employment, the employer could be liable.
Here are eleven tips to help ensure that cheer does not turn into a legal nightmare: