HR Management & Compliance

Workers’ Compensation: Court Looks at Employer Liability for Off-Duty Sports Injuries

Suppose employees who must be in shape for their jobs play a game of pickup basketball to cut loose after work. They figure it’s a good way to stay fit for their physically demanding positions, and it is. But does that mean that if someone gets injured in the game, workers’ comp benefits will kick in? Not likely, according to a new California appeals court decision.

Officer Injured in Pickup Game

The city of Stockton’s Police Department had a regulation requiring officers to be in good physical condition. It didn’t require any post-hire fitness tests or exams, and no officer was ever fired or disciplined for not being in shape.

Police officer Sean Jenneiahan broke his leg while off duty and playing in a basketball game. The game wasn’t an employer-sponsored event. The basketball court was in a recreation facility owned by the Stockton Police Officers’ Association, which is the police union.

Employer Balks at Workers’ Comp Claim

Jenneiahan filed a workers’ comp claim, arguing that the injury was employment-related because he believed the Police Department expected him to engage in cardiovascular activities to stay fit. The department balked because, it argued, the injury wasn’t connected with Janneiahan’s employment.

Game Not Required by Work

The appeals court ruled that Jenneiahan was not entitled to comp benefits for his broken leg. The California Labor Code states that workers’ comp doesn’t cover injuries that occur during voluntary, off-duty sports and social or recreational activities unless the activity was expressly or impliedly required by the employer or the employee reasonably believed it was. The court said that general assertions that the employer expects employees to be in shape aren’t sufficient for workers’ comp coverage under this provision—otherwise, there would be virtually limitless liability for any athletic or recreational activity an employee chooses to participate in.

The court noted that prior cases in which off-duty sports injuries were found to be covered by workers’ comp involved “specific conduct by the employer with respect to the activity at issue.”

Two examples:

  1. An employer expected an employee to play on the company’s softball team and expressed this expectation by handing the employee a team shirt and game schedule and saying the team would see her at the next game; and
  2. An employee was evaluated based on his or her willingness to participate in a company-related recreational activity

Here, there wasn’t sufficient evidence that Jenneiahan had a reasonable belief that the Police Department expected him to play an occasional pickup basketball game. Although the department expected officers to be fit, it didn’t subject them to physical fitness testing or exams, let alone testing on the skills utilized in playing basketball. What’s more, the game was wholly unconnected to the department, given that it was played in a private facility and was not part of an employment-related league, and there was no evidence that the Police Department sponsored or encouraged the game. Thus, said the court, playing in the game was Jenneiahan’s voluntary choice.


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Practical Strategies

Despite this ruling, employers should note that it’s easy to inadvertently cross the line and find yourself on the hook for injuries from employ- ee recreational activities. Here are some suggestions for how you can avoid problems:

  1. Make clear that activities aren’t required. If you sponsor a nonwork sports or other recreational activity, make it clear that employees’ participation is completely voluntary. And, even if you’re not the sponsor, but there could appear to be a work connection with the activity, let employees know you’re not involved and aren’t pressuring workers to participate.
  2. Limit recreation to off-duty hours. One factor in the Police Department’s favor was that Jenneiahan’s injury occurred during nonwork hours. You could be on the hook if you regularly allow workers to engage in athletic games during compensable lunch breaks or work hours, as it can look like you’re authorizing their participation.
  3. Avoid derogatory comments. If you’ve done everything else right, an inappropriate comment could support an employee’s claim that he or she was pressured to join in. So be sure to train managers and supervisors to refrain from commenting on an employee’s decision not to engage in a social or recreational activity.

City of Stockton v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, Calif. Court of Appeal (3rd Dist.) No. C050085, 2006

 

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