Planning Office Holiday Parties Without Lawsuits

Organizing the company's Christmas party? An attorney discusses what to call it, how to do it, and whom to invite

By Jonathan A. Segal

Regrettably, the confluence of religious expression, social interaction, and alcohol consumption often results in a wonderful January for plaintiffs’ lawyers. Here are suggestions for planning and executing company holiday parties that celebrate the season while minimizing the legal risks.

What to Call It, Whom to Invite

You decide to have a holiday party. If you call it a Christmas party, those who don’t celebrate the occasion may feel excluded. If you call it a seasonal celebration, then those who celebrate Christmas may feel you’re demeaning their holiday by using a surrogate name. It’s not like raw fish and sushi; there is a difference.

You can balance competing considerations, albeit imperfectly, by calling the event a holiday party but acknowledging in the invitation that you are celebrating Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and other holidays that fall at this time of year.

The next question is whom to invite. What about contractors and other temporary workers? If you include them, you make them look more like employees and assume the accompanying legal risks. If you exclude them, they may feel slighted and you’ll have to bear the hard feelings.

Fortunately, this is something of a false dilemma. You can simply invite employees and “other guests” to make it clear that your contractors fall in a different category than employees do. Within the “other guests” category, include valued vendors, suppliers, and so forth. Is there some risk? Yes. (When isn’t there?)

What about inviting spouses? It seems hospitable. But welcoming “employees plus spouses” could make same-sex couples who cannot marry feel excluded. You can simply say “spouse or partner.” Remember that many opposite-sex “partnerships” exist, too, so it makes sense to acknowledge partnerships (without defining them).

O.K., that may prevent exclusion based on sexual orientation or marital status. But what about those who have no partner, period? Try “employee plus guest.” If you don’t want kids to come, you can say “adult” guest.

Someone might then accuse you of being hostile to children. While we can and should be inclusive in our invitations, we can draw lines between adults and children. Inclusion is not without limits, particularly in the presence of alcohol. O.K., feel like you need a drink now? Let’s move on to that topic.

Alcohol—and How Much

The legal issue surrounding the serving of alcohol is whether the law will hold the employer liable if partygoers drive home under the influence and cause accidents. Laws vary from state to state, but I can offer some general guidelines gleaned from various court cases over the years.

The greatest exposure involves minors. If a minor drives under the influence of alcohol served by an employer and gets in an accident, a substantial likelihood of employer “social host” liability will result.

In cases of adult drunk drivers, the consequences are less certain. Even in the absence of legal liability, moral considerations come into play. You’ll surely spend many a sleepless night if a serious or fatal accident involving one of your employees occurs after you failed to take reasonable steps to limit his or her consumption of alcohol.

The safest approach from a legal perspective is to forget about cocktails, beer, or wine. That’s not necessarily realistic. You can minimize the risk of serving alcohol by following these guidelines:

1. Establish in pre-function communications that minors cannot drink alcohol, and that they—as well as any adult who obtains it for them—will face termination if they consume any.

2. Make clear in pre-function communications that employees under the influence must stay out of the driver’s seat.

3. Have a bartender serve the alcohol. Letting employees serve themselves can encourage them to help themselves too often and pour too generously.