Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Holding an Employee responsible for company property.

I arranged to have an item shipped

from a trade show to my office. The

value of the item is approxiamately

$2000. The item was damaged in

shipping and the owner of the

company wants to hold me

personally responsible for the value

of the item. The shipping company

only covers 1/4 of the value. Is it

legal to hold a salaried employee

responsible for company property?


Asked on 7/17/07, 2:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jason Stern Law Offices of Jason Stern

Re: Holding an Employee responsible for company property.

Unless you were personally responsible for the loss, you should not be held responsible. I've had clients who were responsible for 50 million dollars in damaged property (microchips/wafers), and no action was taken against them other than negative performance reviews. The bigger problem for you is that you could be terminated if you refuse to pay.

You'll have to weigh the decision, but if you are terminated, feel free to contact my office to assist you in negotiating a severance package. You may contact me via email or through severanceattorney.com.

Good luck!

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Answered on 7/17/07, 4:13 pm


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