Appeals court says happy hour injury compensable

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Thursday ruled a Google Inc. worker who was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury after being struck by two motor vehicles while leaving a happy hour event in October 2021 suffered a compensable workplace injury.

Google denied the claim, arguing that Bruce Matter was not injured within the course and scope of his job as an account executive, according to In the Matter of the Claim of Bruce A. Matter v. Google Inc. et al. A workers compensation law judge ruled in favor of Google and the insurer.

In testifying before the Workers’ Compensation Board, Mr. Matter said that attending the happy hour, which had been placed on “everyone’s calendar” by one of Google’s managers, was not only encouraged but was “absolutely” part of his job requirements.

As he explained, sessions and events such as the happy hour were “an integral part” of his duties as an account executive, and that “building positive working relationships with the employer’s business partners was ‘the only way’ he and his co-workers could ‘sell anything’,” the court record states.

The board reversed, finding that “the employer exercised a degree of control sufficient to find a causal nexus at the time of the accident.”

The state’s appellate court agreed with the board, writing that its decision is “supported by substantial evidence. Despite the informal nature of the happy hour, it is readily apparent that the employer derived a benefit from claimant’s participation in the event.”