Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #483

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
French Company
Liable After Employee
Dies During Sex On
Business Trip
A French compa- ny has been found liable for the death of an employee who had a cardiac arrest while hav- ing sex with a stranger on a business trip.
A Paris court ruled that his death was an industrial acci- dent and that the family was enti- tled to compen- sation.
The firm had argued the man was not carrying out professional duties when he joined a guest in her hotel room.
But under French law an employer is responsible for any accident occurring during a business trip, judges said.
The man, named as Xavier X, was working as an engineer for TSO, a railway services company based near Paris.
He died at a hotel during a trip to central France in 2013, as a result of what the employer called "an extramarital relationship with a perfect stranger".
The company challenged a decision by the state health insurance provider to regard the death as a workplace acci- dent.
The provider
defended its posi- tion by insisting that sexual activi- ty was normal, "like taking a shower or a meal".
In its ruling, the Paris appeals court upheld this view.
An employee on a business trip is entitled to social protection "over the whole time of his mission" and regardless of the circumstances, it said.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine