Holiday Parties and Liquor Liability

The "Insurance Guy" always has to be a party pooper.

Today is the last day of work for many offices until after the Holidays and the night of many office parties. If you are the manager, owner or responsible person, keep in mind that, in many states, you or the company can be held liable for accidents and injuries caused by party attendees having too much to drink. AND, in many cases, your company has insufficient insurance or no coverage under existing insurance for such liability.

What to do? Implement one or more of the following steps and insure everyone has a safe and healthy holiday season:

• Do not serve alcohol at company parties and adopt a zero-tolerance policy for consumption on company premises.
• If the event is off site, make sure the venue has liquor liability insurance and ask if it covers your company or have them add your company as an additional insured for the party.
• Limit party attendance to employees. Significant others can be under age - who will check?
• If zero tolerance is too harsh, the restrictions above too difficult, consider a "key bowl" presided over by a sober third-party. Perhaps a security guard or police officer. If the employee is impaired the third-party calls a cab and the car keys stay in the bowl.
• Off site venues for parties should be with a cash bar if a bar is present. Another option is a "ticket" system where each employee gets one or two tickets for free drinks and the remainder is cash.
• Consider renting transportation for all employees for the event. It is expensive, but cheaper than the loss of an employee.

In all instances your company should have designated responsible person present who understands the potential liability, the rules and the ability to call an employee a cab on the company tab if necessary.