Comp ruling against off-duty pool hall manager reversed

The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned a denial of benefits to a pool hall manager for his injuries from being punched in the face after he ejected a troublesome person from the premises.

Charles Davis worked as a manager at The Cueball pool hall. While he was off duty at the establishment, shooting pool, the manager on duty asked Mr. Davis to eject a troublesome person who was bothering customers, and he did so, according to documents in In the Matter of the Compensation of Davis, filed in Salem.

On the sidewalk in front of the hall, the perpetrator punched Mr. Davis after the off-duty manager shoved him. Mr. Davis later filed a workers compensation claim against The Cueball.

The hall’s insurer denied the claim, and the Workers’ Compensation Board agreed that Mr. Davis’ injury did not occur in the course of his employment because he was not on duty or being paid and the injury occurred off of the employer’s premises, adding that Mr. Davis “exceeded the bounds” of his employment by using force.

The appeals court said that to determine whether an injury occurs “in the course of” employment, it must decide whether the time, place and circumstances of the injury justify connecting it to employment.

In this case, Mr. Davis testified that removing people who are disturbing customers was a part of his job and that he regularly did so. The Cueball’s owner corroborated Mr. Davis’ testimony on this point, but he insisted that he had never asked him to use force in removing anyone from the pool hall.

The court said an activity need not be directed by an employer for it to be work-related, nor is it required that the employee be compensated for it. The court noted that the manager had asked for help, even though Mr. Davis was not then on the job, and it was undisputed that the task of removing troublesome people was part of his usual duties. Thus, the court reasoned, Mr. Davis engaged in the activity of removing the person for the employer’s benefit.

Since the board did not address whether Mr. Davis’ injury occurred as a result of provoking an altercation, and his injury would not be compensable if he had, the court said the case would have to be sent back to the board to address this issue.

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