Giancarlo Villena, a former public works employee for the Demarest Department of Public Works in Bergen County, New Jersey, filed a lawsuit, alleging he was attacked by three coworkers at a job site on November 15, 2022.

In the lawsuit against the individuals and the borough, Villena alleges he was physically assaulted, resulting in severe injuries that left him disabled and psychologically scarred. He further alleges the borough officials were negligent in preventing the assault and failed to properly screen, hire, train, and supervise their employees. Villena seeks compensation for his injuries, medical expenses, and psychological care. https://www.nj.com/bergen/2024/10/my-co-workers-attacked-me-on-job-site-left-me-disabled-nj-town-employee-says.html (Oct. 21, 2024).

Commentary

How the borough will defend the matter is unknown, but negligent hiring is one of the accusations made by the complainants.

To prove negligent hiring, a complainant must demonstrate several key elements:

• The employer had a legal obligation to hire employees who would not pose a risk to others.
• The employer failed to perform adequate background checks or other necessary steps to ensure the employee was fit for the role.
• The employee's actions directly caused harm to the plaintiff.
• The harm caused was a foreseeable consequence of the employer's failure to properly vet the employee.
• The plaintiff suffered actual harm or injury because of the employer's negligence.

The borough will need to prove it performed its due diligence on the hires, including performing background checks on the coworkers accused of attacking the complainant. If that evidence exists, then the borough can demonstrate that the attack was not foreseeable in addition to claims that the coworkers were not responsible for the attack, were acting in self-defense, or that coworkers were responsible, and the attack was outside the scope of their employment.

The final takeaway is that public employers can mitigate the risk of negligent hiring claims by conducting thorough background checks, verifying credentials, and following a standardized hiring process.