Firm May Be Liable for Assault by Co-Worker

Question: I was an employee at a firm for about six months. One day, one of my co-workers who has a bad temper spit in my face during a discussion.

I immediately reported the incident to my supervisor, but he did not do anything to rectify the situation. I eventually quit because the situation became unbearable.

Do I have any legal recourse from the employer or co-worker?

--G.T., Los Angeles

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Answer: You certainly could file a civil complaint against the co-worker for such an assault. The worker could even face a criminal complaint, although prosecutors probably would not pursue such a case.

Since this spitting incident is considered “unlawful touching,” you also might have a valid claim that the worker was trying to inflict emotional distress on you.

Normally, employers are not responsible for the actions of a worker unless they knew or should have known of the worker’s tendency toward violence.

The employer might be liable in your situation, for example, if it had been alerted to other incidents of inappropriate behavior by the co-worker.

Once it had been informed of this spitting incident, the employer has an obligation to take reasonable steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Also, you should try to determine the reason for the co-worker’s actions. If you believe the incident stemmed from a discriminatory or other illegal reason, rather than a general dislike for you, the employer might be subject to additional liability.

Even though you quit, you also might have a claim against your employer and the co-worker under a concept called “constructive wrongful termination”--meaning that your resignation was the same as if your employer had in fact wrongfully fired you.

Don D. Sessions

Employee rights attorney

Mission Viejo

Private Firm Can Keep Its Finances Private

Q: I work for a private company and would like to have access to the company’s annual reports and related information to determine how the company is doing.

Am I legally allowed access to this information?

--N.B., Tujunga

A: Not unless you are a director or a shareholder of the corporation.

There is no obligation on the part of private corporations to make their financial information public. In fact, many private corporations take steps to prevent their financial information from becoming public.

Although you have no right to this information, your company might be willing to provide certain information about its finances should you inquire.

Keep in mind that if it does so, you may be legally bound not to share the information with persons outside the company. This is especially true if you signed a confidentiality agreement or there is a confidentiality policy in the employee handbook.

--James J. McDonald Jr.

Attorney, Fisher & Phillips

Labor law instructor,

UC Irvine

Stipends Subject to Minimum Wage Rule

Q: Is it legal for employers to pay less than minimum wage if they call the pay a stipend? In one case, a nonprofit organization told me that a $100 stipend for a 25-hour workweek was all it could afford.

--G.S., Torrance

A: It would be illegal for the nonprofit organization to pay you a $100 stipend rather than the minimum wage.

To be exempt from the minimum wage, you must be a true volunteer. Volunteers donate their services, without expecting to be paid, for public service, religious, charitable or humanitarian reasons.

But if compensation is given, either in cash or in-kind benefits such as food, clothing, transportation or medical insurance, the individuals would be considered employees, entitled to minimum wage for all hours worked. This is true even if the compensation is minimal, such as $100 a week.

Note that persons who receive rehabilitation services from nonprofits such as the Salvation Army ordinarily are not considered employees, even if they perform work in exchange for cash, food or lodging. Their work is considered a form of therapy, providing a sense of self-worth and accomplishment that might help the recipients reenter the work force. Unlike employees, they are not considered to be exchanging work for compensation.

--Joseph L. Paller Jr.

Union, employee attorney

Gilbert & Sackman

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If you have a question about an on-the-job situation, please mail it to Shop Talk, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; dictate it to (714) 966-7873, or e-mail it to shoptalk@latimes.com. Include your initials and hometown. The Shop Talk column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice. Recent Shop Talk columns are available at www.latimes.com/shoptalk.