Is The Company Responsible When an Employee Is Stalked by an Ex-Employee?

Supervisor Erin Slade felt she had no choice but to fire Bruce Makin after he threatened a co-worker with a gun in the employee break room of Main Property Insurance Company. The exit interview was far from amicable and shortly thereafter, Slade began receiving harassing telephone calls and unsolicited mail and merchandise at her home.

Knowing of Bruce Makin’s violent propensities, Slade was understandably frightened and reported her concerns to the company human resources department.

"Has he made any threats against you?" asked a human resources manager. Slade shook her head. "Then don’t worry about it. He’ll get tired of doing it," she assured Slade.

Over the next couple of months, however, the phone calls escalated, and Slade eventually did receive a death threat. Now she was scared for her life and asked to meet with the vice president of human resources and the company legal department.

At the meeting, the in-house counsel looked doubtful. "How do we even know it is Bruce Makin?" he asked. No one present took her fears seriously. Someone halfheartedly suggested that she stay away from windows.

"Look, Erin," said the VP. "Even if it is Makin, there is nothing we can do because we don’t have a security department. Why don’t you just report the whole thing to the police?"

Slade did make out a complaint with the local police department, but she was an emotional wreck, and the lack of concern on the part of her employer didn’t help. In fact, some members of upper management even made fun of her, shouting "bang, bang" when she entered a room.

Eventually Bruce Makin was arrested for stalking and criminal harassment. By this time, a year after the threats began, Erin Slade was emotionally distraught and filed a lawsuit against her employer for negligently causing her psychological condition.

In court, her attorney stated:

• Main Insurance acted deliberately to injure Erin Slade by refusing to take any action to maintain a safe work environment for her after learning of the stalker’s actions.
• Main Insurance also knew that Slade was suffering from emotional distress, but still did nothing.

Counsel for Main Insurance asked that the case be dismissed for lack of an adequate claim.

The Decision: Case dismissed, ruled a federal district court judge. Main Insurance’s failure to respond to Slade’s fears was not "so extreme or outrageous that it would be considered a deliberate act.” Instead, Slade’s only recourse would be workers’ compensation.

Comment: Even though the employee did not prevail in this case, clearly the company could have done more to protect her, such as providing an escort to and from the parking lot or filing a restraint order against the stalker.

Also, although there is no OSHA regulation covering violence in the workplace, the company could have been found to have violated the general duty clause (Sec. 5(a)(1)) requiring employers to provide a safe work environment.