Employee Right - Negligence

Generally, negligence occurs when somebody does not exercise the amount of care that a reasonably careful person would use while at work, or somebody does something that a reasonably careful person would not do under the circumstances.

If certain situations occur that amount to negligence on the part of the employer, the employer can be held responsible and sued for damages.

Negligent hiring – Employers may be held responsible for their employees’ acts. In certain cases, the acts may have been outside the scope of their employment. Generally, it happens that the employer is held responsible only for the conduct of the employee within the scope of employment. However, if it turns out that an employee who commits some type of harassment or discrimination has committed similar acts in the past, perhaps even while employed by a different company, and the petitioner employee learns of this information, he/she may assert a claim for negligent hiring or supervision.

Negligent Referral – If an ex-employer gives a good reference (maybe under pressure) to one of his/her employees with a poor performance record or a record of unstable behavior, the exemployer may be liable for negligent referral. The reference given by the ex-employer should not misrepresent facts that would present a substantial, foreseeable risk of physical injury to a prospective employer or third parties.

Negligent supervision – This can occur when, In spite of knowing about (or should have known about) an employee’s unstable history, the employer posts him/her in a certain position, which might have resulted in violent or derogatory acts against a coworker.

Negligent retention - In this case, the employer knew or should have known that a particular employee was unfit, but failed to take any action against that employee before he/she causes an injury to someone.

Even negligent infliction of emotional stress and negligent failure to provide a safe workplace (which may/may not have resulted in serious injury or health problems) can amount to a lawsuit.

In some cases the employee has the right to sue independent contractors for negligent performance of their duty, which might have resulted in wrongful diagnosis or wrong results; for example: doctors, drug testing agencies, polygraph examiners, or detectives.

The employer can terminate the services of the employee if there has been serious negligence on his/her part and without any explanation given. However, if the employee believes that he/she has been wrongfully charged with negligence and terminated or disciplined, he/she can take possible legal actions or file a complaint with the relevant employment agency.

If the employee is fired for negligence, he/she may be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. However, negligence is not enough to cause disqualification unless its frequency amounts to willful misconduct. It is advisable to consult an attorney, if the employee is denied unemployment benefits because of negligence.