Cotton v. Worthington Corp

In Cotton v. Worthington Corp., 192 N.J. Super. 467, 471 A.2d 56 (App.Div.1984), certif. denied, 96 N.J. 301, 475 A.2d 593 (1984), the employee was injured while playing on the company softball team. 192 N.J. Super. at 468, 471 A.2d 56. The team played after work approximately once every two weeks at a nearby public park. Ibid. The employer supplied the balls, bats, hats and refreshments for the team. The Court found that the softball games were not a regular incident of employment because the games were not played on company premises and the employer's contribution to, participation in, and encouragement of the activity did not rise to a level suggesting any compulsion on employees to engage in the activity. Id. at 473, 471 A.2d 56. Since the employee could not satisfy the "regular incident of employment" test, we did not determine whether the softball games benefitted the employer beyond improved employee health and morale. Id. at 473-74, 471 A.2d 56.