Employee Liability Waivers: What to Consider - Inc.

Erin McLaughlin, shareholder in the firm's Labor & Employment section is quoted in the Inc. article "Employee Liability Waivers: What to Consider" whether asking employees to sign a waiver before returning to work seems is a simple ask or is it putting companies ​​at deeper risk.​

"It's a clear example of one that went wrong," says Erin McLaughlin, labor and employment attorney at Pittsburgh-based law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney of the Nacho Daddy controversy. She says the question of whether or not to issue them continues to ring in the ears of her clients -- about 15 small-to-midsize-business owners have asked whether it's a viable option. She's advising them to steer clear for a few reasons.

First, she says, employees are not permitted to prospectively waive their rights under state Workers Compensation Law. She says the only way employees may be able to do that is if the employer acted willfully or intentionally and advanced waivers don't usually apply to gross negligence or willful or intentional misconduct.