Court Opinion

ID: 9609653
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:29:33.549495+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:51.489625
License: Public Domain

Smith, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. “It is well settled that when an injury arises out of and in the course of employment, the employee’s sole remedy is against the employer, pursuant to OCGA § 34-9-11.” Labelle v. Lister, 192 Ga. App. 464 (1) (385 SE2d 118) (1989). Whether an employee’s injury arose out of and in the course of employment is usually a question of fact. Edwards v. State of Ga., 173 Ga. App. 87, 88 (325 SE2d 437) (1984). “The terms ‘arising out of and ‘in the course of are not synonymous. An injury arises ‘in the course of employment’ when it occurs within the period of the employment, at a place where the employee reasonably may be in the performance of his duties, and while he is fulfilling those duties or engaged in doing something incidental thereto.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Murphy v. ARA Svcs., 164 Ga. App. 859, 861 (298 SE2d 528) (1982). Another guide to determining the scope of employment is whether the employee “was performing acts within the class of service for which he was employed.” Redwing Carriers v. Knight, 143 Ga. App. 668, 669 (1) (239 SE2d 686) (1977). Here, in contrast, testimony on the record indicates that carrying a deposit to the bank was a managerial duty and should not have been performed by a “stock man” and “bag boy.”
Moreover, “ ‘ [i]t is entirely true that the employer may define the limits of the employee’s sphere of employment by prohibitions, rules, and regulations, and if the employee violates these he is outside the scope of his employment, and any injury sustained outside the scope of the employment is not compensable.’ ” Parker v. Travelers Ins. Co., 142 Ga. App. 711, 713 (4) (236 SE2d 915) (1977). In Parker, a mechanic was authorized by his employer to perform work on his and co-employees’ cars in “lull or slack periods” during which he was required to remain on the employer’s premises. In contrast, Harvey’s regional management had published specific guidelines, and the local store manager and assistant manager acknowledged that they understood the guidelines provided that a manager rather than an hourly employee perform the task in question.
The fact that a local manager directed Bethea to make the night deposit does not in itself demand summary judgment for Harvey as a matter of law. American Mut. Liability Ins. Co. v. Lemming, 187 Ga. 378 (200 SE 141) (1938). “[M]ere direction by an employer to an employee to do something not connected with the employer’s business and the employee’s job in it will not suffice [to support a finding that the employee is within the scope of his employment]. [Cit.]” Graves v. Builders Steel Supply, 186 Ga. App. 736, 742 (368 SE2d 188) *786(1988) (Beasley, J., dissenting).
This court’s decisions in Edwards, supra, and Graves v. Builders Steel Supply, supra, do not require a different result. Ordinarily, this court reviews an award and findings of fact by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation, and will not disturb that award if it is supported by any evidence. Edwards, supra at 88. In both Edwards and Graves there was evidence to support the conclusion that the work was within the scope of employment.
In Edwards, the claimant was injured in a fast-food restaurant while obtaining a carry-out lunch for her supervisor so that he could continue to work. Edward’s written job description contained a provision including “ ‘other duties as assigned by supervisors and managers,’ ” 173 Ga. App. at 88, and she testified that getting her supervisor’s lunch fell within that general provision in her written job description and was one of her regular duties. Id. In Graves, this court noted that it liberally construes the Workers’ Compensation Act to effectuate its humanitarian purposes. 186 Ga. App. at 737. A machine operator who was injured on a fellow employee’s machine, on which he was not authorized to work, was held to be engaged in work so similar to his own that the activity was “an incident of claimant’s regular work.” Id. In neither Graves nor Edwards was there testimony that the conduct in question was explicitly placed outside the scope of the worker’s employment by written company policy.
On summary judgment in a tort action, the standard applied is different from that used in reviewing a decision of the Board of Workers’ Compensation. “The party moving for summary judgment has the burden of establishing the non-existence of any genuine issue of fact, and all doubts must be resolved in favor of the non-moving party.” Northside Bldg. Supply Co. v. Foures, 201 Ga. App. 259 (411 SE2d 87) (1991).
Construed most strongly against the movant, the record contains evidence that Harvey knew the night deposit involved a risk of armed robbery to the person performing the task. Consequently, Harvey directed that managers make bank deposits and provided explicit written directions as to the manner in which this task should be performed. The record supports the inference that a manager was present and available to make the deposit on the night of Bethea’s death but failed to perform his assigned duties. Instead, two unauthorized employees were diverted from their regular duties to make the deposit in the manager’s stead, contrary to written company policy and without being instructed in the proper manner of performing that duty. There is some evidence that management chose this course of action only when a security guard was not available to carry the night deposit.
These facts present an apparent conflict between the employer’s *787rules and the command of an intermediate supervisor in contravention of those rules, creating an issue of fact as to whether Bethea’s death arose out of and in the course of his employment. Bethea’s knowledge of regional management’s policy and the authority of local management to countermand that policy remain in dispute. A finder of fact could conclude that making the night deposit was outside the scope of Bethea’s duties and not an incident of his regular work, and that he was performing acts outside the class of service for which he was employed. For these reasons, summary judgment is inappropriate here, and I would reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Harvey.
Decided March 18, 1994
Reconsideration denied April 1, 1994
J. Converse Bright, for appellant.
Young, Clyatt, Turner, Thagard & Hoffman, Robert M. Clyatt, Daniel C. Hoffman, Hodges, Erwin, Hedrick & Kraselsky, Kenneth B. Hodges, Jr., for appellee.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge McMurray and Judge Cooper join in this dissent.