What is an employers liability for only providing adequate security to some but not all employees?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What is an employers liability for only providing adequate security to some but not all employees?
Taking night call is a required part of my job (RN – Surgical Dept). My employer won’t provide a secure locked place for us to sleep but has many secure sleep rooms for MD’s, med residents, radiology/ultrasound techs, etc. We have been offered empty patient rooms (with doors that cannot be secured) to sleep. If something (such as assault) happened – would the employer be liable in any way (since call is a job requirement and they do provide secure sleep rooms for others)?
Asked on July 28, 2011 Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
1) There is no obligation for an employer to provide a locked or secure break or sleeping room for their employees.
2) That said, if an assault happens, then your employer may well be liable. You state that you have to be on call, and therefore you need a place to wait, rest, etc. If it would be considered negligent, or unreasonably careless, for your employer to not provide you with a secure place and you were injured, that could give rise to liability. Whether it is negligent would depend on the circumstances--patient population, overall level of security and monitoring in the building, now easy it is for a patient or outsider to get where he or she should not be, etc.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.