Company provided equipment stolen. Am I liable?
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Company provided equipment stolen. Am I liable?
I am employed by a company company A where I am required to use my personal vehicle for travel. We are contracted by Company A to do work for Company B. Company B requires us to have specific equipment non-safety/OSHA to complete our work. Company A provides required equipment as mandated by thier contractual obligation with Company B. If the equipment is damaged/stolen from my personal vehicle am I responsible for repayment? Note Company A has no invoice, serial numbers or any provideable records of having owned said equipment as requested by both the authorities and my insurance.
Asked on May 29, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You would be responsible if you can be shown to have been at fault--that is, if the theft is due to your intentional wrongful act (e.g. collaborating with someone to steal and sell it) or more likely negligent or unreasonably careless act, such leaving the equipment in plain sight in your car (instead of putting it in a trunk or covering it up) or failing to lock the car so anyone can open it up and take the equipment. It is fault--doing something careless or wrongful that contributes to a theft--that can make you liable.
Conversely, if you are not at fault--you did nothing wrong--you would not be liable.
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