Can an employee sue because the A/C unit stopped working yesterday morning, which was a national holiday?
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Can an employee sue because the A/C unit stopped working yesterday morning, which was a national holiday?
I, the owner, tried to call many people, but no technician was ready to come in. I went to the location to try to fix it myself, along with 5 other people, having a very small background with fixing things. One of the technicians helped me troubleshoot over the phone and we isolated the problem but the part that stopped working was only available to buy for licensed technicians only, which I was not. So the technician said that the place to buy it from wasn’t open either and the very next day, today, the technician got the part and fixed it immediately. Can the employee, who is a manager, sue for this?
Asked on September 4, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
There is not legal right to air conditioning in a place of work--there is therefore no lawsuit available for its not being available. Furthermore, even when someone is obligated to provide air conditioning--such as a landlord's obligation to tenants (not employees) to make sure their rental premises are habitable--the only obligation is take reasonable steps to provide it, which, from what you write, you did. Based on what you write, there are no grounds for the imposition of liability.
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