Negligent Hiring or Retention

The theory underlying negligent hiring and retention claims — if they relate to an auto accident involving one of your employees and a company vehicle — is that you are liable for the accident because of the sloppy job you have done in hiring, or not firing, the employee who then caused the accident. As a lawyer who is helping someone to sue you sees things, if you had not hired (or retained) the employee, there would never have been an accident.

Unlike some of the other liabilities from employee use of your vehicles we discuss, you can be sued under a negligent hiring/retention theory for any unfortunate incident involving an employee, not just vehicular accidents.

Defenses to Negligent Hiring/Retention Claims

Usually your best defense to a negligent hiring/retention argument is proving one of the following:

• that there was nothing wrong with your employee
• that you had no way of knowing there was something wrong with your employee

We'll leave it to your lawyer to argue that there was nothing wrong with your employee when, and if, the time comes that you need to assert that defense. But we can help you take steps now that will later help you prove that you are, and always have been, a conscientious employer.

• If you are considering hiring an employee, be very careful in the recruiting and hiring process. In particular, be careful to do a thorough background check and avoid negligent hiring.
• If you already have employees, deal with any noticeable problems promptly by disciplining or, where necessary, terminating any problem employee.
• If you conduct regular performance reviews, it can help you document the fact that you monitor your employees.

These steps can help show that you are not negligent about handling your responsibilities as an employer.