Hello Jasmine! Thank you for asking. Under Washington law, absent unusual circumstances, an employee’s overserved guest would not be considered an agent of the employer, so the employer would not have vicarious liability. Instead, the employer could face quasi-commercial host liability.

I have seen CR 2A agreements include dispute resolution procedures whereby the settling parties agree that the mediator will act as an arbitrator in the event of a request to enforce the settlement, but I don’t think I have never seen a CR 2A agreement whereby the mediator will act as arbitrator on a mediation procedural issue like mediator bias, confidentiality, etc.

Excellent point, Mark. I should clarify that when I used the word “contractor” in the post, I meant construction contractor or tradesperson as opposed to an independent contractor.

I think businesses will continue to be shielded from liability when the person causing the accident is clearly an independent contractor…but the line between independent contractor and employee can also be blurred, making proper classification and risk management all the more important in a gig economy.