Do you supply your employees with company cell phones, laptops, iPads or other portable devices? Well you may be surprised if an employee is injured while using their device off the clock and you are held liable.

Years ago, determining who was liable (employee or employer) for a claim was much easier when the workspace was more clearly defined. If an incident occurred in the office, it was a workers’ compensation claim. But the big challenge now lies in employees working from home, on the road or from any location imaginable—because of the smart phone.

Example

In 2004, a Georgia employee making a business call while driving hit and caused serious injury to another driver. The employee’s company agreed to pay $5 million in damages after the court found that the company was liable since the employee was making a business-related call. In a different case, $2 million in damages were awarded to a child’s family after an employee hit and killed her in 2004. The family also sued the employee’s company after phone records revealed that the employee was talking to a client at the time of the crash.

Develop a Policy

While there is no guaranteed defense to liability, developing an appropriate employee cell phone use policy, training employees about the dangers of talking on a cell phone while driving, and enforcing policies with signed written acknowledgments from employees can all help to limit an employer’s potential liability.

In the policy, beyond setting clear-cut rules limiting cell phone use while driving, offer suggestions such as:

• informing clients of driving schedules to avoid calls while on the road.
• pulling over to place or receive an important call.
• asking a passenger to handle cell phone usage.
• emphasize that while productivity is certainly important, more important is their safety and the safety of others on the road.

Even with a comprehensive cell phone use policy, courts may still hold employers responsible for any harm caused by employees while on company business, so it is important to ensure that your policy is being upheld and enforced. Be clear about the importance of following the policy, and follow through with consequences if employees are found to be disobeying it.

Information from Insurance Journal and Zywave.