If an employer knows of the horseplay and acquiesces in it, the doctrine does not bar the injured employee from recovering benefits. (Ad Fab, Inc. et al., v. W.C.A.B. (Razo) (1984) 49 Cal.Comp.Cases 330 (Writ Denied).) See also Petsmart, et al., v. W.C.A.B. (Guila) (2003) 68 Cal.Comp.Cases 1513 (Writ Denied).
In Oliva v. Peggy Heath et al., (1995) 60 Cal.Comp.Cases 479, 41 Cal. Rptr. 2d 613 (Published), an employee sued co-employees for injuries resulting from a practical joke at work. One day, when she arrived at work she attempted to sit in her desk chair, but fell and injured her back because co-employees had lowered the chair from its normal position as a prank. At a civil trial, evidence was presented that the employer encouraged pranks and a superior testified he encouraged such pranks as a means of building morale.
In holding that pranks and practical jokes at work are within the scope of employment under Labor Code section 3601, if condoned by the employer, the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, stated, in part:
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Injuries to both participating and nonparticipating employees are within the course and scope of employment when the employer knows of the horseplay and condones it. (Argonaut Ins. Co. v. Workmen's Comp. App. Bd., supra, 247 Cal.App.2d 669, 681.... See Resser v. Hewlett Packard Co. (1985) 13 CWCR 151 where the Board held that allowing drinking at an employer-sponsored party did not automatically preclude the employer from raising the intoxication defense. See section 50.3.2 of this book for full discussion of the Oliva case.