With this week’s Thanksgiving celebrations kicking off the 2024 year-end holiday festivities, wise businesses will proactively act to reduce the risk that their business will start 2025 with a post-holiday workforce liability hangover. 

Responsibly managed, company-sponsored and other social celebrations and activities can promote team building, morale, goodwill and other rewards.  However, holiday celebrations, staffing disruptions, behaviors and their fallout also can often create attendance, discipline, compliance, safety and other legal and operational responsibilities, risks and costs. Wise business leaders act proactively to mitigate these risks as the nation enters holiday season begins.

Health & Safety

Gatherings, food, game playing, toasting with alcohol, travel and other aspects of company-sponsored and off-duty celebrations can enhance usual or create new accident and illness risks. Holiday socialization, presentism, distractions, staffing disruptions, operational changes and other factors can increase illness and accident risks. Injuries and illnesses suffered on or off the job can create added occupational health and safety and worker’s compensation responsibilities, costs and liabilities, disrupt staffing and productivity, and fuel health care, medical leave, disability, worker’s compensation and other responsibilities and expenses long after the holiday season ends. To help workers enjoy the Holidays safely and avoid these business costs and disruptions, businesses should confirm that their occupational health, safety and injury policies, practices, and staffing fulfill applicable occupational health and safety and workplace accident and injury laws, as well as consider encouraging workers to follow good health and safety practices on and off the job throughout the holiday season. 

Employers generally have a duty of care under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSH Act”) and other occupational health and safety laws to provide a safe work environment.  The OSH Act requires businesses to recognize and take appropriate steps to keep their workplaces safe. The OSH Act, worker’s compensation, leave and other laws. OSH Act and other workplace safety laws generally require employers to promptly report and investigate workplace accidents and injuries, ensure workers receive timely treatment, and trigger occupational injury and other leave and other duties.

Workplace injuries resulting from unsafe workplace conditions generally trigger expensive penalties and damages, in addition to worker’s compensation or other occupational injury coverage liabilities.  The holiday season often exacerbates or adds to the ongoing challenges employers face in maintaining workplace safety and responding to workplace injuries and accidents. Some common sources of additional risks associated with the holiday season include decreased oversight from management holiday absences, heightened worker fatigue and distraction, demand-driven, vacation or illness-related understaffing, expanded use of temporary or contract staffing, and holiday season-associated intoxication.  See Holiday Workplace Safety.  OSHA offers various recommendations to aid employers in recognizing and managing heightened workplace safety risks during the holiday season.  Keeping Workers Safe This Holiday Season.  To mitigate their risks from workplace injuries and accidents caused by safety violations and associated violations of investigation, reporting, benefit and other requirements, business leaders should ensure that their organizations identify and manage these additional risks, as well as ensure appropriate staffing and other arrangements are in place to ensure timely response, investigation and reporting of any workplace accidents or injuries during the holiday season.

With outbreaks of the flu, respiratory illnesses and other communicable or infectious diseases that spread from person to person common during the holidays, and holiday gatherings heightening the potential for transmission of the flu or other contagious diseases, businesses also should consider their responsibilities under the OSH Act or other laws to manage contagious disease exposures and spread.  For instance, health care and certain other industries may be subject to laws or regulations that impose specific requirements for preventing and responding to contagious diseases, many of which may have been added or changed since the COVID-19 pandemic.  Businesses should verify their policies meet or exceed current federal, state, local and contractual requirements as well as are designed to meet their business’ need to manage other contagious disease costs, absences and other disruptions.

Whether or not a business is subject to specific contagious disease management mandates, all businesses generally will benefit from reviewing and communicating their existing contagious disease and related leave and other workforce policies to workers and management to help protect their operations against the costs, operational disruptions and liabilities that often result from contagious disease outbreaks within their workplace. To enhance efforts to deter worker injuries and illnesses, businesses should consider using free resources like the Centers for Disease Control’s Healthy Habits to Prevent Flu and 8 Tips for a Safe and Healthy Holiday Season flyers, workplace posters, payroll stuffers and other communications to remind workers and their families to follow best safety and contagious disease prevention practices during the holidays.

Along with encouraging workers to stay healthy and safe during the Holidays, businesses should also consider providing documented reminders and take other steps to encourage workers to provide timely notice of illnesses and injuries and verify appropriate management coverage and arrangements to ensure that management team absences don’t disrupt the business’ timely delivery of Family and Medical Leave Act, occupational injury and other notifications, coverage for absences, provision of benefits, and other performance of other responsibilities in response to injury and illness reports despite holiday associated absences or hours of operation impacting the employing business or its responsible vendors.

Businesses also should verify their workplace safety, contagious disease and leave policies are designed and administered to prevent and mitigate exposure for unlawful OSH Act and worker’s compensation retaliation, disability discrimination against legally protected employees with chronic or other disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), denial of leave or other violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act leave, notice and other requirements; and ADA and other privacy and confidentiality laws.

Alcohol & Other Conscious Altering Substance Consumption

The increased prevalence of holiday season celebrations and vacations often fuels an increase in consumption of alcohol, marijuana, and other consciousness-altering substances. This consumption can fuel a host of risks and headaches for businesses. Businesses concerned about these risks should act proactively to mitigate these risks.

When addressing business-related alcohol consumption, many businesses will want to consider not only alcohol and other conscious altering consumption at business-related events as well as potential costs that may arise from off-duty excess alcohol consumption. Whether resulting from on or off-duty consumption, excess alcohol, marijuana or other conscious altering consumption, whether on or off duty, can undermine productivity, create attendance and discipline issues, and fuel a host of other risks even when it does not result in a specific accident or injury.

Impaired judgment from alcohol or other intoxication in the workplace or at other events often fuels or contributes to employees or others exhibiting or subjecting employees to inappropriate sexual advances or other discriminatory statements, violent behavior, suicidal behavior or other problematic conduct requiring workplace investigations and discipline.

Most businesses also recognize that accidents caused by alcohol or other intoxication at work or work-related functions create substantial liability exposures for the company under the OSH Act and other occupational safety laws, as well as to workers and any third parties injured by a drunken employee, business associate, client or guest.   

Businesses risk “dram shop” or other claims or other liability if employees or guests impaired by alcohol or other substances consumed at company-sponsored or associated events or operating company vehicles or equipment injure others.

Beyond this third-party liability, businesses also may incur significant worker’s compensation, health or disability benefit-related benefit costs if an employee is injured or injures another worker in an alcohol-related accident.   

The potential headaches are even greater where the business is a health care, education, automobile sales, trucking and other transportation, or another business subject to or that has voluntarily adopted specific drug and alcohol-free, drug and alcohol testing and other related regulatory or contractual requirements. Businesses subject to these requirements should ensure appropriate arrangements for timely drug and alcohol testing, reporting, and other compliance with these requirements during the holiday season to avoid regulatory or contractual penalties for noncompliance. Companies administering substance abuse testing must comply with applicable mandates while also ensuring that their processes incorporate appropriate protocols to comply with disability discrimination, accommodation and confidentiality requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”). See, e.g., ADA May Require Employers To Accommodate Employees Testing Positive For Legally Prescribed Medications

 Also, because workers engaged in these industries generally risk loss of licensure, certification or other credentials required to perform their jobs for engaging in or failing to report certain alcohol or substance-related offenses or conduct, even off-duty consumption can create staffing headaches for an employer if a worker becomes temporarily or permanently disqualified to work as a result of a substance-related infraction. Consequently, businesses in industries affected by these heightened requirements have a heightened interest in educating and reminding workers to behave legally and responsibly when deciding if and when to consume alcohol or other conscious-altering substances.

Accordingly, virtually all businesses can benefit from encouraging employees to be responsible when consuming alcohol in both business and non-business functions and in planning and hosting holiday functions. 

Businesses that serve alcohol at company functions or anticipate that employees will attend other business functions where alcohol will be served need to consider the potential liability risks that may result if the alcohol-impaired judgment of an employee or other guest causes him to injure himself or someone else.  A company anticipates an employee or guest might consume alcohol at a company-sponsored or another business event and should adopt and enforce clear policies to prohibit and prevent individuals from over-imbibing and from driving under the influence.  Many businesses also find it beneficial to suggest, require or offer at company expense alternate transportation for employees to use when leaving a company or business-related event where the employee consumed alcohol. 

Businesses concerned with these liability exposures should take steps to manage the potential risks that commonly arise when employees, clients or other guests consume alcohol at company-sponsored events or while attending other business-associated festivities. To minimize these risks at company-sponsored events, many companies elect not to serve or limit alcohol consumed by workers and served to guests at company sponsored events and other business functions.

To help prevent intoxication from fueling inappropriate behavior at company celebrations where alcohol might be consumed or present, businesses, at a minimum, should remind employees that company policies prohibiting intoxication apply to company-sponsored social and business events.  Some practical tips for hosting safe holiday gatherings include:

• Management and other leaders should communicate expectations and set a good example.
• Reduce opportunities for intoxication by prohibiting or restricting and monitoring the amount of alcohol available and served.
• Offer a plentiful supply of a variety of nonalcoholic drinks—water, juices, sparkling sodas. Nonalcoholic drinks provide guests with alternatives to alcohol.  They also may help counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol, slow the rate of alcohol absorption into the body and may reduce the peak alcohol concentration in the blood.
• Provide a variety of healthy foods and snacks. Food consumption can slow the absorption of alcohol and reduce the peak level of alcohol in the body by about one-third. Food can also minimize stomach irritation and gastrointestinal distress the following day.
• Encourage guests to help keep each other safe by monitoring and assign a team to monitor attendees for potential overconsumption or other signs of intoxication.  With appropriate pre-consumption notification to attendees, some businesses even require or encourage attendees consuming alcohol to take a breathalyzer test before departure to minimize the risk that an intoxicated guest will be arrested or involved in an accident after departing the party.
• Help your guests get home safely by arranging reliable transportation by using designated drivers and taxis. Anyone getting behind the wheel of a car should not have ingested any alcohol.

Because holiday-associated alcohol consumption and other stresses also tend to fuel increased depression, domestic violence and other stress-associated behaviors, many businesses also find it beneficial to redistribute information about employee assistance programs (EAPs).

Businesses also may want to review the adequacy of existing health, disability, accident and dismemberment, group legal services and other benefit programs, liability insurance coverage and employment policies to protect and promote the company’s risk management and workforce coverage objectives.  Businesses can experience unfortunate surprises if they don’t anticipate the implications of these provisions on their employment policies, leave and benefit, safety and other workplace programs and liability insurance and indemnification obligations and costs. Maintaining and reminding workers about policies regarding alcohol consumption or intoxication, accident and traffic offense notifications, privacy waivers, or other policies enhancing accident investigation and response, or other strategic policies can help deter and facilitate investigation and response to on and off-duty accidents or other risk-creating events. 

Many employee assistance (“EAP”) health and disability programs incorporate special provisions affecting injuries arising from inappropriate alcohol use as well as offer coverage and benefits to aid employees and family members affected by mental health or substance abuse-related conditions. Changes in regulatory mandates and expanded enforcement of federal group health plan mental health and substance abuse coverage mandates make it important to ensure that employment-based health coverage complies with these requirements. Similarly, many businesses increasingly qualify for preferential rates or discounts on liability policies based upon representations that the business has in effect certain alcohol and drug use or other risk management policies and practices.  Reviewing these policies now to become familiar with any of these requirements and conditions can also be invaluable in helping a business respond effectively if an employee or guest is injured in an alcohol-related accident.

Discrimination & Harassment Liability Risks

Businesses should also manage exposures to religious, sex and other discrimination risks linked with the holiday season.   

Businesses should critically review their scheduling and other holiday season plans and practices for potential prohibited discrimination or other insensitivity. Businesses should use care to handle carefully requests for religious-based scheduling changes, particularly in light of changes in judicial precedent and regulations in recent years.  Leave policies should disclose policies for scheduling and holiday leave clearly and include appropriate, updated policies and procedures for requesting religious accommodation.  Companies also should consider seeking advice from legal counsel before denying a faith-based request for a schedule change in light of the latest guidance or recent court decisions precedent.

Business-sponsored or connected holiday or year-end parties, communications, gifts, and other December festivities and observances should be designed to reflect appropriate sensitivity to sexual harassment and religious and other cultural diversity risks.  Businesses should exhibit sensitivity and alert their workforce to their expectation that members of their workplace exhibit respect and sensitivity to differences in religious practices and observances among their employees, business associates and friends. Management and other workers should use care to plan social gatherings to be inclusive and to accommodate differences in cultural, religious and other differences. Businesses also should be sensitive to the potential that workers of alternative faiths may feel discriminated against if holiday observances focus unduly on a particular religion to exclude their faith.  Businesses also should use care to manage other discrimination exposures in the planning of holiday festivities, gift exchanges, and other activities. Businesses also should be vigilant in watching for signs of inappropriate patterns of discrimination in the selection of employees invited to participate in company-connected social events and off-duty holiday gatherings sponsored by managers and supervisors.

A good starting point is reminding employees, business partners and customers that the company expects employees, business partners and other guests to adhere to company rules against sexual harassment, religious and cultural and other inappropriate discrimination at company-sponsored and other gatherings involving other employees or business associates. Businesses also should remind employees that the company does not expect or require that employees submit to unwelcome sexual, religious, or other inappropriate harassment or discrimination when participating in parties or other social engagements with fellow employees, customers or other business partners and of the procedures to follow to report any concerning events.  Even a simple e-mail reminder to employees that the company expects them to be familiar with and comply with these policies and can help promote compliance and provide helpful evidence if an employee or other celebrant steps over the line.

To enhance the effectiveness of these reminders, a business should consider adopting and sharing specific guidance to educate workers about its policies, including examples to illustrate company-sponsored and other off-duty holiday-associated activities of particular concern. 

Businesses also should recognize that whether or not company-sponsored, the fraternization inherent in holiday parties and other celebrations where employees celebrate with other employees, clients, suppliers or other business associates can lower inhibitions and obscure the line between appropriate and inappropriate social and business behavior. With or without alcohol, some employees, clients or business associates may misinterpret the festive social atmosphere of holiday celebrations.  Some employees, clients or business associates make unwelcome sexual advances, make sexually suggestive or other inappropriate statements, or engage in other actions that expose the business to sexual harassment or other employment discrimination, harassment or retaliation liability. To help deter inappropriate or risky conduct, businesses should consider providing reminders that company prohibitions and rules about sexual harassment, discrimination, fraternization and other inappropriate conduct remain in effect during the holiday season, including when planning or attending holiday celebrations or other events hosted by the business, business partners and clients, and even private management sponsored events and observances.

Gift Giving, Gratuities & Social Entertainment

The exchange of social invitations, gifts and gratuities during the holiday season or at other times throughout the year also can raise various concerns. Businesses should adopt and communicate clear policies and procedures governing both giving and receiving social invitations, gifts, and other benefits.  Businesses should review applicable governmental regulations, contractual requirements, and customer and vendor policies for requirements that could impact the offering, receipt, reporting or other handling of gifts, social invitations or other activities. Businesses also should design policies to ensure that they collect and retain sufficient documentation from employees, officers, consultants, customers, and vendors to monitor compliance and other legal and operational risks associated with social entertainment, gifts, and other similar benefits, to report tax deductions and income arising from these activities appropriately, and to meet other compliance obligations. Businesses should review and update current business policies affecting social entertainment, gifting and other similar activities for opportunities to promote compliance and mitigate risks.

As with other holiday observances, all gifts, gratuities and social entertainment must adhere to applicable laws, regulations and company policies regarding bribery, conflict of interest or other inappropriate inducements or rewards. Companies should implement and enforce appropriate policies for the offering and provision of and recordkeeping and reporting of these perks.

Gifts, gratuities and entertainment practices also must not discriminate inappropriately based on sex, religion or other protected status and must reflect appropriate sensitivity to potential religious, sex, race, or other protected status. A business that anticipates workplace or work-connected private festivities might include white elephant or other gift exchanges may wish to specifically include a reminder to exercise care to avoid selecting a gift that may be sexually suggestive, insensitive to religious, cultural or other differences or otherwise offensive.   

Businesses also should confirm that all applicable tax implications arising from the giving or receiving of gifts are appropriately characterized, documented and reported in accordance with applicable tax, referral, conflict of interest and other requirements.

In addition to ensuring proper tax documentation and reporting, businesses also need to ensure and retain documentation of the propriety of invitations, gifts and other benefits.  Social entertainment and gift-giving activities intended to show appreciation or support marketing efforts can create significant legal or relationship risks if not properly tailored to avoid regulatory or contractual prohibitions or appearances of impropriety.  Government contractors, government officials, health care providers, nonprofits, public companies and an amazingly broad range of other entities often must comply with specific statutory, regulatory, contractual or ethical requirements affecting the giving or receiving of invitations, gifts or other preferences.  An ill-conceived social invitation, gift, or other benefit that violates these restrictions may expose both givers and recipients to legal prosecution, program disqualification and other serious legal risks. 

In addition to these externally imposed legal mandates, many businesses have established their own conflict of interest, social entertainment, gift giving or other policies to minimize the risk that employee loyalty or judgment will be comprised by gifts offered or received from business partners or other outsiders.  Employees, officers and contractors of businesses maintaining these policies may face termination or other significant discipline for violating these requirements.  Accordingly, businesses offering social invitations, gifts and other benefits to valued vendor or customer relationships risk must be sensitive to these organizationally imposed requirements. 

Timekeeping, Performance, Attendance & Time Off

Businesses also commonly face a range of year-end timekeeping, attendance and time off, pay, compensation and productivity concerns.  The winter cold and flu season and other post-celebration illnesses, vacations, and winter weather inevitably combine to fuel a rise in absenteeism and competing requests for time off during the holiday season.  Improperly designed or out-of-date timekeeping and reporting, leave and attendance, investigations, privacy and other workplace policies can exacerbate management of these challenges and their costs. Further complications can arise when dealing with employees suspected of mischaracterizing the reason for their absence or otherwise gaming the company’s time off policies. Meanwhile, performance and productivity concerns also become more prevalent as workers allow holiday shopping, personal holiday preparations, and other personal distractions to distract their performance. 

Managing staffing needs and tracking and administering timekeeping, overtime and other pay, paid and unpaid time off and other attendance, compensation and absence administration while maintaining compliance with legally protected or other legitimate requests for excused time off by employees can present major headaches for businesses and their management.  Recent changes in federal, state and local paid and other protected leave mandates add additional traps for the unprepared. Businesses concerned with these challenges ideally will review their policies and practices to ensure their organizations have in place well-designed policies and practices concerning timekeeping, overtime and other pay, attendance and time off, productivity and performance that comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and other compensation, timekeeping, leave, reporting, investigations, privacy and other federal, state and local laws. Businesses should exercise care when addressing productivity and attendance concerns to investigate and document their investigation before imposing discipline. Businesses also should ensure that their policies are appropriately and even-handedly administered.  They also should exercise care to follow company policies, to maintain time records for non-exempt workers, to avoid inappropriately docking exempt worker pay, and to provide all required notifications and other legally mandated rights to employees taking medical, military or other legally protected leaves. In the event it becomes necessary to terminate an employee during December, careful documentation can help the business to defend this decision.  The increasing prevalence of worker classification challenges by federal and state agencies and plaintiff’s attorneys also makes it important for businesses to take steps to require and preserve access to documentation be able to demonstrate compliance with these and other applicable legal obligations by staffing and other contract labor suppliers.

Timely Investigation, Notification & Reporting

Businesses faced with allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment or other misconduct or potential business liabilities arising during holiday seasons should also take steps to ensure that appropriate staffing and other arrangements to ensure their organization’s ability to promptly investigate, if necessary, take appropriate corrective action to address complaints or other concerns arising during the holiday season around management or other time off. 

Delay in investigation or redress of accidents, discrimination or other concerns can increase the liability exposure of a business presented with a valid complaint and complicate the ability to defend charges that may arise against the business.  Additionally, delay also increases the likelihood that a complaining party will seek the assistance of governmental officials, plaintiff’s lawyers or others outside the corporation in the redress of his concern.

If a report of an accident, act of discrimination or sexual harassment or other liability related event arises, businesses should take steps to ensure that management responsible for responding to these and other occurrences are property trained or otherwise supported to carry out these responsibilities in an appropriate, defensible manner as well as to provide timely notification as needed to any government entities, contract partners, insurers, agencies or other parties.  Injuries occurring at company related functions often qualify as occupational injuries subject to worker’s compensation and occupational safety laws.  Data breaches and various other events may trigger notification or other disclosure obligations to meet statutory, contractual or other requirements.  Likewise, automobile, cyber, employment practices and other liability policies often require covered parties to notify the carrier promptly upon receipt of notice of an event or claim that may give rise to coverage, even though the carrier at that time may not be obligated to tender a defense or coverage at that time.  Ensuring appropriate, timely response can play a critical role in promoting defensibility, mitigating liability or preserving coverage or indemnification rights.

For Help With Investigations, Policy Updates Or Other Needs

If your organization would like to learn more about the concerns discussed in this update or seeks assistance auditing, updating, administering or defending its human resources, compensation, benefits, corporate ethics and compliance practices, or other performance-related concerns, please contact management attorney and consultant Cynthia Marcotte Stamer.

An attorney Board-Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Ms. Stamer’s work focuses on helping management manage performance, legal compliance and operational risks.

For more than 35 years, Ms. Stamer’s work has advised businesses and business leaders about enhancing the effectiveness and defensibility of their operations using employment and other workforce and services management, employee benefits, compensation, performance management, contracting, Federal Sentencing Guideline and other compliance and risk management, investigations, and other legal and operational tools and solutions.  While helping businesses define and manage the conduct and performance of their employees, contractors and vendors, she also assists employers and others with compliance with federal and state equal employment, compensation, health and other employee benefits, workplace safety, leave, and other labor and employment, privacy and data security, and other laws, advises and defends businesses against labor and employment, employee benefit, compensation, fraud and other regulatory compliance and IRS, Department of Labor, Department of Justice, SEC,  Federal Trade Commission, HUD, HHS, DOD, Departments of Insurance, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture and other federal and state regulators.

Ms. Stamer also speaks, coaches management and publishes extensively on these and other related matters.

Her work, thought leadership and scholarship on helping organizations manage people, operations and risk have earned her recognition as a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel, a “Top Woman Lawyer,” “Top Rated Lawyer,” and “LEGAL LEADER™” in Labor and Employment Law and Health Care Law; a “Best Lawyers” in “Labor & Employment,” “Tax: ERISA & Employee Benefits,” “Health Care” and “Business and Commercial Law.”

For additional information about Ms. Stamer and her experience or to access other publications by Ms. Stamer see here or contact Ms. Stamer directly.

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