Labor & Employment Law

The Death of the Holiday Party?

By Michael Fitzgibbon

Is the company holiday party a thing of the past? 

There's been allot written about employer liability associated with holding a holiday party for employees.  It makes you wonder whether it's really worth it.  Sure, there are lots of positives, but there are also many risks.  Call me scrooge, but the company holiday party has set the stage for some leading employment law cases.  Whether it be inappropriate comments or conduct, to booze induced tirades at the boss, to accidents, the party can be a legal minefield for employers.  One of our BLG Newsletter from 2005 discusses some of this.

The USA Today reports that Companies trim holiday parties, bonuses and notes that "about 85% of companies will host a holiday party this year, according to a survey by Battalia Winston, an international search firm based in New York. That's down from 94% in 2006 and the lowest percentage since the Sept. 11 attacks."  The reason that accounts for the reduction?  Probably costs.

Full post as published by Thoughts from a Management Lawyer on December 10, 2007 (boomark / email).