Duty of Care

Employer’s Duty of Care

Shannon Zellars

Jamie Davis Smith, Esq

Law, Ethics, and Goverance

August 08, 2010

Explain whether Jake’s actions are in or out of “his scope of employment.”

An employee’s scope of employment is the activities that the employee may properly carry out and that the employer is expected to supervise. Acts done while performing one's job duties. The phrase was adopted by the courts for the purpose of determining an employer's liability for the acts of employees. The employer is said to be vicariously liable only for those torts of the employee that are committed within the range of his job activities. Jake’s actions are within the scope of his employment because he wants to do a good job on the oil changes to the cars. He is doing all the normal procedures that he follows every time he does them. Herman wants him to do short cuts so that he can change the oil in more cars and get the line of cars down. If you understand the definition of the scope of his employment, he is doing everything that is required to perform the job in an effective way.

Explain whether or not Herman is responsible for Jake’s injury.

The employer's duty to his employees is commonly dealt with under four headings, the provision of:

1. competent staff;

2. a safe place of work;

3. proper plant and equipment; and

4. a safe system of work. These are simply aspects of the broader duty to see that reasonable care for the safety of employees is taken.

The employer's duty to his employees is personal and non-delegable. He can delegate the performance of the duty to others, whether employees or independent contractors, but not responsibility for its negligent performance. Working people in America have certain basic legal rights to safe, healthy and fair conditions at work. However, many employers violate these basic rights because they value their profits more than their workers do. In this case, Herman could be responsible for Jake’s injury...