Can I be held responsible for mistakes as a previous employee?

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Can I be held responsible for mistakes as a previous employee?

My previous employer continues to blame me for mistakes in the past and has now said that if a client were to take him to court that as owner he would not be brought up on legal charges but I would as the employee.

Asked on February 24, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

In terms of your employment, your employer is free to blame you, resent you, hold you responsible, etc. for as long as he likes. If you have an employment contract, then depending on the contract's terms, he may not be able to do anything about it; but without a contract, he could, for example, fire you over something you did in the past.

As to liability: if you committed a tort as an employee (e.g. assault, defamation, theft, or injuring a person or property through negligence) you could be liable, the same as you could be liable if you did these things outside of your job. Your employer could also be liable in many circumstance, as your employer, if you committed the tort in the course of employment.

If as a result of your action the company breached a contract in some way, the customer or client would likely not be able to hold you liable--he or she would sue the company, with whom he or she contracted. If you caused the breach intentionally or through negligence (carelessness), the company in turn might be able to sue you to recover its losses.


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