Party rules designed to head off liability

Forget mistletoe and eggnog.

Some employers -- concerned that bad behavior at holiday parties could lead to liability or sexual harassment claims -- are developing party rules that limit everything from the availability of alcohol to traditional Yuletide games such as the kiss beneath the mistletoe. Others are hiring private car and van services to transport inebriated employees. And, specialists say, more and more companies will hold the annual holiday party away from the office to reduce the risk of a liability claim.

"The companies we support are having a lot of discussions about how to manage the holiday party," said Susan Braverman, a principal at the workplace consulting firm Crisis Management Group.

"Some employers have issued guidelines for second- and third- shift workers who will be attending parties and then returning to work," said Braverman. "Also, companies that traditionally served alcohol and want to continue serving it are looking at what can happen when people have too much to drink. They're discussing whether to hold the event at a country club or a hotel and have an open bar. This way, they are not supplying the alcohol themselves."

It takes more than one incident to create a viable legal claim. But the holiday party could play a key role, says Boston employment lawyer Ellen Messing.

"Usually, a single incident of leering doesn't make a case," she said. "The test is whether there has been a hostile work environment all along. Sometimes, an incident at a party is part of a chain of events but because alcohol was involved the worst link in that chain occurs at the party. The occasional leer or dirty joke becomes part of a pattern if, while the employee is at the party, the harasser's behavior gets out of hand."

Messing maintains the victim could successfully argue that the employer had been notified earlier and took no action prior to the holiday bash.

"There has been a general expansion of social host liability over the past few years in which people are being held responsible for the intentional wrongs of the individuals who attend their parties," noted Messing, cofounder of Messing & Rudavsky. "Employers should be concerned, especially if the person doing the wrong actually works for them and feeding that person alcohol results in problematic behavior."

Workplace specialists point to alcohol consumption as the primary cause of lewd or bad behavior at office parties. Once the liquor starts flowing, they say, inhibitions loosen, especially when the company is offering a limitless bar.

Battalia Winston International, an association of executive search consultants, found that 90 percent of the 152 companies it surveyed plan to serve alcohol at their holiday parties. Of those, 16 percent will offer reduced rates on hotel rooms to encourage workers to stay put and not drive; 17 percent will offer a car service; and 3 percent will offer a bus service.

Some companies say they will handle the problem by not having a party.

Some employers are shying away from anything that might expose them to lawsuits for sexual harassment or any of the problems that can come up.

"So, they are not holding parties," said John Challenger, cofounder of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas in Chicago.

For those employers that are planning a party, the biggest issue is how to prevent incidents that could cause legal problems later on. Of the 139 employers polled this month by Vault.com, an online message board in New York, 27 percent have had to reprimand someone for bad behavior at a holiday party in the past.

What should companies do? Specialists offer this advice: Limit the number of drinks each person can have, designate drivers, and pull problem workers aside and make sure they understand behavior will be monitored.

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