U.S. Bank Home Mortgage v. Schrecker
2014 Ky. LEXIS 617
| Ky. | 2014Background
- Andrea Schrecker, a U.S. Bank employee with a fixed workplace, took a paid 20-minute afternoon break on Dec. 31, 2007 to get food from a Taco Bell across a busy four-lane road (Frederica Street).
- She crossed between intersections (no crosswalk); one car stopped and waved her on, another in the adjacent lane did not see her and struck her. She sustained physical and traumatic brain injuries.
- Schrecker returned to work after the incident and later was terminated; she sought workers’ compensation benefits for injuries she claimed occurred in the course and scope of employment.
- ALJ, Workers’ Compensation Board, and Court of Appeals found the injury compensable under the personal-comfort doctrine; U.S. Bank appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
- The Supreme Court reversed, holding Schrecker’s off-premises route exposed her to hazards outside normal going-and-coming activities and violated pedestrian law, constituting a substantial deviation that defeated compensability.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Schrecker was injured in the course and scope of employment while on a paid break off premises | Schrecker: paid sanctioned break; employer benefited from morale and from her having worked through lunch; employer permitted crossing the street; no improper motive | U.S. Bank: off-premises (not operating premises); temporary abandonment of job; her route was an unreasonable deviation exposing her to non-employment hazards | Held: Not compensable — her mid-street crossing was a substantial personal deviation and exposed her to hazards outside normal going/coming activity; violation of pedestrian law and impliedly forbidden conduct removed employer liability |
Key Cases Cited
- Meredith v. Jefferson Cnty. Prop. Valuation Adm’r, 19 S.W.3d 106 (Ky. 2000) (personal-comfort doctrine can cover off-premises breaks; factors to assess temporary abandonment and employer authority)
- Ratliff v. Epling, 401 S.W.2d 43 (Ky. 1966) (deviation from normal coming-and-going activity can bar compensability)
- Baskin v. Community Towel Serv., 466 S.W.2d 456 (Ky. 1971) (employees off premises during unpaid lunch with fixed workplace are outside course of employment)