Could you be liable for employee’s suicide?

Sometimes, workplace harassment can be so oppressive that an employee takes his own life. In some circumstances, those responsible for maintaining a workplace free of retaliation and harassment can be held liable for such a tragedy. It’s rare and only happens in extraordinary circumstances, but it does happen.

Recent case: Scott worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. At some point, he and another corrections officer were goofing around and Scott hurt his knee. He reported the incident to his supervisor, who told him to file a workers’ compensation claim. He did, even though he expressed misgivings about essentially lying about his injury.

After taking leave, he claimed co-workers began harassing him. It only got worse after he made a series of whistleblower reports about working conditions and the care prisoners received. For example, he protested that prisoners were sometimes strip-searched in the snow, provoked into fighting, not allowed access to showers and otherwise abused.

After his reports were ignored, Scott sought mental health treatment and kept complaining. Finally, Scott told his supervisors he was going to quit. They urged him to take some time off to reconsider. He did and then decided to go to headquarters to speak with higher-ups about his complaints.

Scott set out from home but never returned. He was found dead a day later, about 200 yards from his truck. He left a note stating, “The job made me do it.”

His widow sued, alleging that negligent supervision had caused Scott to commit suicide.

The court said liability for an employee’s suicide is possible in California if the suicide was an “uncontrollable impulse.” But, in this case, Scott had thought about his actions before killing himself. That indicated planning, and therefore the supervisors weren’t liable. (Jones, et al., v. Cate, et al., No. 2:12-CV-02181, ED CA, 2016)