Thinking of Holding a World Cup™ Watch Party for Your Employees? Here are Some Tips from an Employment Lawyer

With the World Cup™ games happening on U.S. soil, businesses may be thinking about allowing watch parties for their employees on company premises. They might believe that putting on the television in the conference room and allowing their employees to watch during working hours is no different to watching the games at home with friends. However, even if the games are not being used to generate money for the company, employers should be mindful of potential legal implications of organizing or offering a World Cup™ watch party at work.

FIFA^® Licensing and Regulations

FIFA^®, which is organizing the World Cup™, issued regulations regarding the public viewing of World Cup™ games. For some private employers who are simply allowing their employees to watch a game on company premises, no license from FIFA^® is necessary because it will be treated as a “Non-Commercial Public Viewing Event.” (This exemption is not available for employers planning a watch party in a location that can hold more than 1,000 spectators.) Examples of conduct set out by the regulations include using FIFA^® nominated broadcaster(s) only, watching live and not with a delay or repeats, showing the opening and closing ceremonies, and not editing the feed. There are also rules regarding use of FIFA^®’s intellectual property use.

While it’s not clear how much FIFA^® will be monitoring private businesses holding watch parties for non-commercial reasons, employers who want to ensure they are fully in compliance should read the regulations, which can be accessed here.

Do You Have to Pay Employees During the Watch Party?

It’s best to inform all employees in advance and in clear terms that attendance at the watch party is voluntary. To the extent you can, depending on the time of game, hold the party outside normal business hours. Avoid conducting business during the watch party, so do not include speeches about business matters, co-opt the time to hand out company awards or bonuses, or the like. Employees who are non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act should not be asked to carry out any tasks during the watch party that benefit the employer, to avoid allegations of off-the-clock work and exposure to wage and hour claims.

Workers’ Compensation Liability

Employees may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits for injuries they incur during or because of an employer-sponsored event. The rules vary from state to state. Ideally, employers should have a watch party off the company premises. Recognizing that this might not be feasible with World Cup™ games, you should, in any case, make it clear that attendance is completely voluntary/not mandatory and there is no business purpose for the watch party.

Food and Drink

It’s risky to have alcohol available during the watch party, and the safest course of action is to offer soft drinks only. However, if you can’t imagine the watch party without alcohol, it should be on a very limited basis. For example, no more than one beer or small glass of wine per employee, which could be by way of a ticket system where each employee gets one ticket for an alcoholic drink. You could also limit the time slot in which alcohol is served. Someone will need to monitor consumption. You can encourage employees to notify management if another employee appears overly intoxicated. Another option is to ask certain employees to be watchers, but make sure that those watchers are paid for their time to avoid wage and hour problems.

Ideally, you should use an outside vendor with insurance and a license to serve liquor. If that isn’t a possibility for whatever reason, check if your business is licensed and insured to serve alcohol on company premises. If you’re using outside catering, make sure that vendors are properly licensed and carry insurance, not just in relation to alcohol. There should be plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available, and preferably snacks so that employees are not drinking on an empty stomach. Obviously, if you have employees who will be operating machinery later in the day, then the idea of serving alcohol may be a non-starter. Consider providing transportation for employees if you do decide to serve alcohol, such as vouchers or reimbursement for taxis.

The Party is Not an Excuse to Behave Badly

If the party is on company premises, it is also prudent to send out a communication to employees beforehand to remind them that the company’s handbook or code of conduct applies during the watch party, including the policies against harassment and intoxication.

If all of the compliance above is giving you a headache, another solution is to adopt a policy that employees may take limited time off for specific games to watch them offsite. You might, in any case, find that avid fans are suddenly off sick at short notice during critical games. Facing this issue head on by notifying employees in advance that you will be permitting specified time off may give you some comfort about who will be at work and who will be out. Assess whether you will offer any such time as paid or unpaid for non-exempt staff.

The above is not a complete list of all possible legal risks. If you want further information or guidance on any of the issues mentioned above, please contact any member of Clark Hill’s Labor & Employment Practice.

This publication is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed herein represent those of the individual author only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC. Although we attempt to ensure that postings on our website are complete, accurate, and up to date, we assume no responsibility for their completeness, accuracy, or timeliness.