labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Earlier this summer, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed a new Tennessee Workers’ Compensation law. The new law will limit employers’ liability for injuries suffered by employees during voluntary recreational, social or athletic activities. 

While this law limits workers’ comp cases in Tennessee, employers in other states should be cautious about permitting recreational or sports activities on company property.

The law highlights a dilemma for many employers – how to promote a healthy lifestyle without incurring additional liability for sports-related injuries and deaths.

The new law was sparked by the lawsuit Gooden V. Coors Technical Ceramic Co. In that case, Mr. Gooden collapsed with a fatal heart attack while playing basketball on the employer’s premises during an unpaid break. The court found that an employee’s death on the employer’s premises was a workers’ comp case – even though the basketball game was entirely voluntary.

Because the employer provided the basketball hoop, supervisors sometimes participated in games and the games occurred on company property, the court found that the death (more…)