Grather v. Gables Inn, LTD

In Grather v. Gables Inn, LTD, 170 Vt. 377, 751 A.2d 762, 764 (Vt 2000), the claimant was employed as a "ski bum" and was injured while skiing. As a "ski bum," the claimant's main duties were to serve breakfast to the employer's customers in the mornings and dinner in the late afternoons. The job was designed to leave time free to ski between late morning and late afternoon. The "ski bum" also received a ski pass as part of the compensation package. Id. Relying in part on 22.01(3) of Professor Larson's treatise, the Vermont Supreme Court held that since the employer was providing a recreational opportunity (i.e., skiing) as an inducement to attract employees, the employer received "a benefit sufficient to bring the claimant's skiing within the course of his employment." Id. at 764-65.