Legal Definitions - serious and willful misconduct

Serious and willful misconduct refers to an action or a failure to act that goes beyond simple carelessness or ordinary negligence. It signifies a much higher degree of fault and involves one of two scenarios:

• Performing an intentional act with the clear understanding and knowledge that it is highly probable to cause significant harm or injury, OR
• Acting with an extreme and reckless indifference to the serious dangers or consequences that are very likely to result from one's actions.

In the context of workers' compensation, if an employer's actions meet this standard, an injured worker might be entitled to increased benefits. Conversely, if an employee's actions are found to be serious and willful misconduct, their benefits could be reduced or denied.

Examples:

• Example 1 (Employer's Deliberate Inaction): A manufacturing company receives multiple warnings from safety inspectors about a critical machine's faulty emergency shut-off mechanism. Despite these warnings and several near-miss incidents reported by employees, management decides against repairing the mechanism to avoid production delays and save costs. An employee is subsequently severely injured when the machine malfunctions and cannot be stopped quickly.

  Explanation: This illustrates serious and willful misconduct by the employer. The company had clear "knowledge that it is likely to result in serious injury" due to the repeated warnings and near-misses. Their intentional decision to ignore these known dangers and prioritize production over safety demonstrates an extreme and reckless disregard for the probable consequences to their employees.

• Example 2 (Employee's Intentional Disregard for Safety): A trained electrician working on a high-voltage power line is explicitly instructed to "lock out/tag out" the circuit (a procedure to ensure the power is off and cannot be accidentally re-energized) before beginning work. Despite this mandatory safety protocol, the electrician intentionally bypasses the procedure, believing it will save time, and begins working on a live circuit. They suffer severe electrical burns.

  Explanation: This demonstrates serious and willful misconduct by the employee. The electrician performed an "intentional act" (bypassing the safety protocol) with "knowledge that it is likely to result in serious injury" (being aware of the extreme dangers of working on live high-voltage lines). Their deliberate disregard for a fundamental safety rule, knowing the high probability of severe harm, qualifies as such misconduct.

• Example 3 (Employer's Reckless Policy): A construction company's project manager, aware that a specific excavation site has unstable soil conditions and requires shoring or sloping to prevent collapse, instructs workers to proceed with digging without implementing these necessary safety measures. The manager's reasoning is to accelerate the project timeline. The trench collapses, trapping and injuring several workers.

  Explanation: This is an example of serious and willful misconduct by the employer. The project manager acted with a "wanton and reckless disregard of its probable consequences." They had knowledge of the unstable soil and the high likelihood of a collapse but intentionally chose to ignore standard safety practices, demonstrating an extreme indifference to the severe risks faced by the workers.