The Nexus Between Vicarious Liability of Employers and the Acts Committed “in the Cause of Employment” By The Employees: A Discourse

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Date
2021
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Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka. Journal of Commercial and Property Law
Abstract
Vicarious liability makes employers accountable for the wrongful negligent or intentional tort actions of their employees, while acting in the course of their employment. The scope of this paper excludes other relationships between the employer and those considered not to be employees, such agents or independent. Depending on the case, an injured third party can sue both the employee (as the actual person responsible in law) and the employer (deemed by the law to be indirectly, or vicariously, responsible for the same injury).Indeed, the employer’s liability is founded upon the doctrine that an act or omission of the employee in the course of his employment is that of the employer so that the employer may be made liable in tort. This paper aims at putting in right perspective, the limitation of employers’ vicarious liability for the wrongful acts of their employees. It combines both doctrinal and non-doctrinal approaches in its research methodology. It finds out, among others, that employers should not be vicariously liable for criminal acts of their employees unless such are ordered by them. It also answers some pertinent questions, such as: What is the extent of the employer’s liability for the wrongful acts of his employees? What is the meaning of “in the course of employment” and its connection with the employers’ “vicarious liability”? It recommended that employers are vicariously liable to the extent of the closeness or nexus of the wrongful acts to the employees’ duties, and base its conclusion on this and related issues.
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Keywords
Vicarious Liability, ‘In the cause of Employment’, Employers, Employees
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