Quote:
Originally Posted by Padre
The employer assumes liability when he hires someone. It's why you carry insurance. Every business works this way. You can't operate a business without some trust, and trust assumes liability. No matter your hypotheticals to explain away the keys, it all comes down to the employer trusting his employee. (Besides, Ockham's Razor applies: the simplest, most believable explanation is that the guy always had the keys.)
When I take up a collection in my church, I put in all sorts of safeguards so that the people's gifts go where they are intended... background checks on all volunteers, multiple counters, regular audits, a safe, and an armored truck and guys with guns to take it to the bank. But no matter what I do, there is still SOME risk. I try to minimize that risk, e.g. I probably can't stop a clever pick-pocket from taking a dip in the collection, but there is still risk. *I* am held responsible if there is a loss that *I* COULD HAVE prevented by using due diligence.
While there might be hypotheticals where an employer has NO liability for his employees, this thread is clearly not one of them.
Padre
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I own a business too, albeit a small business, I understand liability and how it works. I have a payroll to meet, taxes to pay and liabilities including insurance. My insurance company is my parachute after I eat a loss to a customer. Yes, of course an employee is a PART of the business and as such an extension of it. In my opinion this is not a case of that. In a liability sense. Again, I believe the dealer should do right immediately. But not be liable to do so by force because I think they made all reasonable actions to secure the customers car. It should be the dealers decision. I say this because what the guy did was criminal. If this guy did this on company time and in an authorized capacity then I'd say dealer is liable easily. But why do I have to be responsible for an employees criminal behavior officially? I wonder if their insurance company will agree with you here.
My thoughts go to principle though. At this point I can't see ANY hypothetical where an employer has zero liability in the country. It is just expected by most people that the businesses must be responsible for everything. Apparently including an employees criminal doings.