Idaho Law Blog
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney
My employer clients often ask me if they can be held liable for injuries or damages caused by their employees while they are working. Whenever I begin discussing this question with my clients I always like to start with a scene from the movie, Joe Somebody. Here is the scene:
JEREMY I’m gone for three days and employees are fighting like schoolkids in the parking lot. This McKinney, I know everybody hates that big jerk. But this Joe “Shepherd”
MEAGAN Scheffer. Joe Scheffer. He did the video for the wellness program last year. Remember? –
JEREMY Oh, he’s the A-V guy.
MEAGAN Video communications specialist.
JEREMY Ooh! That’s very different then.
MEAGAN Actually, Jeremy, he’s a good guy. I ran into him the other day. He’s quiet, hard-working. Maybe a little shaky right now. He’s going through a divorce. It’s really sad. He kept telling me how great —
JEREMY Any work-related problems prior to the incident?
MEAGAN He was promised a promotion almost a year ago, and never happened.
JEREMY So, basically, he’s a schmuck.
MEAGAN The guy’s a devoted father, a hard worker with nothing but positive reviews. That makes him a schmuck?
JEREMY Well, let’s see … his wife left him. He was passed over for a promotion …and he just got beat up in the company parking lot. I’m gonna go with …yeah! So, what are we doin’ about it?
MEAGAN Well, ‘‘we’’ have left him several messages. I’m waiting to hear back —
JEREMY Whoa. That’s not enough. It’s been three days. We’re under review. The efficiency Nazis are all over us. Employees fighting in the parking lot sort of undercuts … the company wellness program, if you know what I mean.
MEAGAN Do you think I’m not doing my job?
JEREMY It doesn’t matter what I think. But what if he decides to sue? What if he sues the living daylights … out of the company for failure to create a safe work environment, or, uh, uh, emotional distress? But you and me, Meg … Megs, we’re on the same page. We’re the ‘‘A’’ team. We can make this go away. I know we can.
MEAGAN I’ll call him again.
JEREMY Nope. That time has passed. You go get Joe ‘‘Schlepper.’’
MEAGAN Joe Scheffer. Go get him? At his house?
JEREMY Go … Go get him. Go get him at his house and bring him back to work. I know you can do it.
Sometimes while on the clock, both employers and employees do very dumb things. Sometimes these dumb things lead to lawsuits. The official legal term for dumb things is “torts.” The purpose of this post is to describe just a few of the torts that occur at work that can lead to lawsuits where the employer is liable for the actions of its employees. When employers and employees understand and recognize how their actions are wrong they can avoid these bad actions and the consequences as well.
The starting place for discussing workplace torts is Herrera v. Estay, et al., 146 Idaho 674 (2009). In Herrera, a construction worker was injured when an employee of a scaffolding company removed a portion of the scaffolding which collapsed. The construction worker sued the scaffolding company for the negligence of its employee. Even though the case was decided on procedural issues and remanded for further proceedings with the district court, the Idaho Supreme Court did re-state the standard in Idaho for employer liability when it declared that an employer is liable for the tortious conduct of an employee committed within the scope of employment.
Finholt v. Cresto, et al., 143 Idaho 894 (2007), defined the scope of employment. In Finholt, the Idaho Supreme Court stated that generally, work performed to serve the employer falls within the course and scope of employment, whereas actions pursued for a purely personal purpose do not. Finholt, citing, Wooley Trust v. Debest Plumbing, Inc., 133 Idaho 180, 184, 983 P.2d 834, 838 (1999).
Thus the law in Idaho is that an employer will be liable in tort for the conduct of its employees while working. The issue of whether the employee is actually working and within the scope of its employment is based upon the facts of each case.
If you are an employer and have questions about being liable for the conduct of your employees, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Employment Law attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Employment Law questions and will help you solve your Idaho Employment Law problems.
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