Frett v. State Farm Emp. Workers' Comp.
348 Ga. App. 30
Ga. Ct. App.2018Background
- Employee Rochelle Frett worked at State Farm and had a mandatory, unpaid 45‑minute, scheduled lunch break; she was free to leave the premises and not required to work during the break.
- Each day an automated schedule showed Frett her assigned lunch time; she logged out of the phone system at that time.
- On the day of injury Frett microwaved lunch in the employer‑provided breakroom, slipped on water while exiting the breakroom (still on the employer’s premises), completed an incident report, and left early due to pain.
- An ALJ awarded workers’ compensation benefits; the State Board reversed, applying the scheduled‑break exception and denying compensability.
- The Dekalb Superior Court affirmed the Board; Frett appealed, arguing the ingress/egress rule should make her injury compensable despite being on a scheduled break.
- The Court of Appeals reviewed de novo whether the Board applied correct legal principles to undisputed facts.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether an injury occurring on employer premises during a scheduled lunch break "arises out of and in the course of employment" | Frett: ingress/egress rule applies because she was on premises and in the process of leaving for lunch, so injury is compensable | State Farm/Board: scheduled‑break exception controls; break time is personal and suspends master‑servant relationship, so injury not compensable | Held: scheduled‑break exception applies; injury did not arise out of employment; benefits denied and prior contrary line of cases disapproved |
| Whether the ingress/egress rule should be extended to override the scheduled‑break exception | Frett: ingress/egress should cover employees who are still on premises preparing to leave/return, avoiding arbitrary results | State Farm/Board: applying ingress/egress to scheduled breaks improperly dilutes Farr and prior Supreme Court precedent | Held: Court rejects extending ingress/egress over Farr; disapproves Rockwell, Smith, Chandler line of cases — such extension should be for the Georgia Supreme Court to decide |
Key Cases Cited
- Ocean Acc. & Guar. Corp. v. Farr, 180 Ga. 266 (Ga. 1935) (establishes scheduled‑break exception: injuries during scheduled personal lunch breaks are not compensable)
- Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Honea, 71 Ga. App. 569 (Ga. Ct. App. 1944) (applies Farr to deny compensation for injury while leaving on a scheduled lunch break)
- Rockwell v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 248 Ga. App. 73 (Ga. Ct. App. 2001) (applied ingress/egress rule to hold scheduled‑break exception inapplicable when employee was egressing premises)
- Ray Bell Constr. Co. v. King, 281 Ga. 853 (Ga. 2007) (explains the distinct "in the course of" and "arising out of" elements and discusses continuous employment doctrine)
- Fed. Ins. Co. v. Coram, 95 Ga. App. 622 (Ga. Ct. App. 1957) (applies ingress/egress rule to injuries sustained while going to/from parking as necessary incident of employment)
- Miles v. Brown Transport Corp., 163 Ga. App. 563 (Ga. Ct. App. 1982) (scheduled break exception inapplicable where lunches unscheduled and job duties occurred during lunch)