California law generally requires employers to provide employees with a safe place to work. What, if anything, does this obligation entail when an employee works at home or another employee visits that private residence for work-related activities? This question has added importance after the significant increase in employees working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The California Court of Appeal’s new decision in Colonial Van & Storage, Inc. v. Superior Court addressed some of these issues. Specifically, it considered whether an employer’s duty extends to ensuring that “an off-site meeting place for coworkers and business associates like an employee’s private residence is safe from third party criminal harm.” The court concluded that the duty did not extend to an employee’s home, so the employer was not liable for injuries suffered there—at least with a criminal act by a third party. The decision, however, likely will provide guidance on employer’s duties and any potential liability involved with employees working at home more generally.
The case involved a tragic – and fortunately uncommon – violent act. Defendant Colonial Van & Storage employed a married couple in different positions. The wife was a supervisor and allowed to work at home at her discretion. She often invited coworkers to her family’s home for work-related reasons. In March 2017, the couple hosted a dinner. They invited a Colonial coworker...
MUNCIE, IN — A Muncie man has been charged in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis with filing false COVID-19 claims. Gregory Vernon Dupree II, 38, in a federal indictment has been charged with eigh...