Question

A corporation can be charged with any crime, provided an employee of the company has acted (wrongly) within the scope of their employment. True False

Answer 1

Answer: The correct answer is True.

Explanation: This is a case of employer liability - employers are liable to their employees' act, whether it was due to the employer's intention or not, or whether the employer means to cause harm or not, provided the employees still act within the scope of their employment. The same applies if the employees had carried out good deeds within the scope of their employment, the employers share the good news - just the same way an employer profits from employee's labor, the employer is legally liable when the employee commits harm.

Employers are vicariously liable under doctrine of "respondeat superior" for the negligence or omissions caused by their employees during the course of their employment with the company. The doctrine of "respondeat superior" according to Law dictionary means a doctrine in tort law that makes a master liable for the wrong of a servant. There was a particular scenario I witnessed: a colleague of mine while working late at work had a visitor at the Reception and opted to see him. Unfortunately for her, an accident happended - a car broke into the office and she sustained a lot of injuries. The employer paid for all her reimbursable expenses during her treatment, paid her mum a certain amount for taking care of her, including buying her a new phone because the old one got damaged during the accident although insurance took care of some of the health bills. Because the employer knew it was binding in the court of law, she could not be forced to resume. She eventually resumed after 6 months!