Bountiful Brick Co. v. Giles

Background

On June 17, 1925, a brick company employee, Nephi Giles, was struck and killed while crossing the Bamberger Electric Railroad’s tracks to reach his workplace. The brickyard lay immediately west of the railroad and connected by a spur. Most employees lived east of the tracks and, because of geography and a deep ditch, could not avoid crossing the railroad to get to work. Some used a public crossing about 200 yards south, but many habitually crossed the right of way at various points. The company manager knew the workers crossed in different places, warned Giles to be careful, and did not forbid the practice. The state industrial commission found the employer liable and made an award, which the Utah court affirmed, raising the constitutional question whether the state compensation law could be applied here.

Reasoning

The central question was whether Giles’s death occurred “in the course of” employment — that is, whether the risk of crossing the tracks was sufficiently connected to his job. The Court applied earlier decisions and held that when employees habitually use adjacent premises to get to work with the employer’s knowledge or implied consent, injuries there are part of the employment risk. Because the company knew of and acquiesced in the varied crossings, the Court treated the risk as annexed to the employment. The Court said questions about the employee’s negligence or trespass were not controlling when consent by the employer made the route part of the job.

Real world impact

The decision affirms that employers can be held responsible under state compensation laws when workers are injured on routes to work that the employer knows and effectively permits. The judgment upholds the industrial commission’s award against the brick company and reinforces that common travel practices may become part of employment conditions.