Respondeat Superior: Employer Responsibility - Essay Example

The 24-year-old photographer was asked by the firefighters to take the photographs and was assaulted in the city’s truck. Even though the captain allowed some of the firefighters to make use of the occasion to pick up women, some of the firefighters in attendance were on duty. As a result, the city is vicariously liable for the assault offenses of its employees. The employer was directly negligent in allowing the employees to use the occasion to pick up women which resulted in the sexual offense

Some of the firefighters were on duty in case of any eventuality at the event. This implies that the firefighters were dutifully at the place to perform responsibilities authorized by the agent. As stated in American Federation vs. Equitable life, for a respondeat superior to attach, the employee needs to have breached his duty to a third whilst acting in the scope as well as the course of his employment. At the time of the sexual assault, one of the firefighters was on duty. This implies that the firefighter breached duty while acting in the course of his employment. The offense was committed within the time and space limits of the agency considering that one of the employees was on duty. Furthermore, sexual assault is a violation of basic human rights and a criminal offense. In my view, the city is to have respondeat superior liability for the harmful acts of these fighters. Read More