Courts stretched ‘in course of employment’ statutes through interpretive flexibility

Evidence

These words, or their equivalent, appeared in most of the statutes. The courts gradually stretched the meaning of these words as if they were made out of rubber. If a secretary strains her neck at the office, turning to talk to her girlfriend, she collects compensation. Dozens of cases dealt with accidents at company parties or picnics. Often these were held to be injuries “in the course of” employment. A crazed killer storms into a restaurant, firing at random; bullets hit a busboy. He collects workers’ compensation. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3842

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Twenty-five years of agency practice shaped how the Court read plain statutory meaning. — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 896; The statutory definition of work was created by judges, not Congress — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 2294; Technological change forces courts to extend old statutes to unanticipated situations. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1421 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Courts can include new subjects under old statutes despite absent legislative intent #corroborates (0.85) — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 1406
• Technological change forces courts to extend old statutes to unanticipated situations. #exemplifies (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1421