Who, at one time or another, hasn’t run out during the workday to get coffee for themselves and/or coworkers? I know I have. My needs are few, but one of them is most certainly caffeine. However, employers may want to put the kibosh on office-hours coffee runs, based on a new ruling from a New Jersey appeals court.
The court ruled on Wednesday that
The deets of the case are thus: Jesse Cooper Sr., a plumber and foreman for Barnickel Enterprises in Forked River, N.J., was driving in a company truck to a meeting with a union instructor. The instructor was busy teaching when Cooper arrived, so to kill some time, Cooper drove to a deli some five miles away to get coffee. On the way, he was in a crash that broke both his legs and one arm.
In what Law.com calls a “liberal interpretation” of the workers’ comp going-and-coming rule (there’s an understatement if I ever heard one), the N.J. court ruled that accidents "occurring during coffee breaks for off-site employees, which are equivalent to those of onsite workers, are minor deviations from employment which permit full recovery of workers' compensation benefits."
Although Barnickel attorneys argued in vain that Cooper was on a personal errand and not performing work duties at the time of the crash, Cooper was found
What do you think, pros? Is this an isolated case, or one you need to be concerned about? Will you keep your fingers crossed the next time one of your team members heads out for coffee or (gasp!) a sandwich?
