Employer Liability for Employee Drinking
Workers' Comp Insider had a recent post on the liablity of employers for employee drinking. What's interesting about this case, it that it's not the usual 'employee gets drunk at the holiday party and runs over the little old lady' scenario. It's not even a case of the employee who entertains a client, gets loaded, and gets back in the company car and then runs over the little old lady. In this case, and employee with a seemingly obvious drinking problem left work and was involved in an accident killing two other people. The driver survived and is charged with vehicular homicide.
Here's where it gets interesting.... It turns out that the employee had gone out the previous evening and became very intoxicated, he came to work the next day, but left early, and somehow came back to work. When he hit the other vehicle, his blood alcohol level was .43 - which our friends at Worker's Comp Insider remind us is enough to kill most people! The case that has emerged questions the potential liability of the employer. Was it obligated to stop what may have been an obviously inebriated employee from leaving the office in such a state? According to an attorney, Bill Judge:
"You have to understand that once a worker shows up drunk, the employer must act ... he becomes the employer's responsibility.You put him in a cab, or you call the emergency contact person on his application and say come get him. If he decides he's going to drive anyway, you call the police."
Very interesting. And certainly something for every HR professional to be thinking about.
FYI, the quote attributed to a "judge" is actually a quote from an attorney, Bill Judge.
