Was your employee involved in a DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI (driving while impaired/intoxicated) in a company vehicle? If so, you or your company faces the risk of being held partially liable for an accident. How can you successfully defend yourself?
One key to an employer's defense in court may be to understand and utilize the rules about the scope of employment. What is scope of employment? And how can it help you? Here's what every employer needs to know.
What Is the Scope of Employment?
The idea of scope of employment includes the range of activities and actions that an employee is reasonably expected to perform for their job. In general, the employer can be liable for what happens within this range. But activities outside the scope of employment may be solely on them.
What Is Outside the Scope?
In general, two things make something outside the scope of a person's employment.
The first is a person's work hours. In general, once a person clocks out, their employer no longer has responsibility for their actions. But the official schedule isn't the only factor, since things like out-of-town travel or after-hours work could be part of their job.
The other factor is what the person was hired and authorized to do. A delivery driver is hired and authorized to drive vehicles for company business. So an accident on the road is within the scope of employment. But your accountant's lunchtime drunk driving is less likely to be within the scope.
Could You Still Be Liable?
Unfortunately, scope of employment is a nebulous term. So a jury may decide that an employer still has some measure of responsibility for things that are technically outside the scope.
For example, perhaps you provide a salesperson with a full-time company vehicle. While using the vehicle for a date night, they get into an accident. While the venture was not within the scope of employment, a jury may assign you some liability if you didn't stipulate that the car couldn't be used for personal business.
Similarly, if you send a manager to dinner with a customer and permit them to order alcohol, the company may be liable if the manager then gets into an accident later after dropping off the customer.
Where Should You Start?
No matter what type of damage or injury your employee may have caused, the best way to start protecting your company is to learn about the scope of employment rules. Meet with an attorney in your state to learn more.
