November 2020: Topics include security claims and challenges, embezzlement claims, COVID-19 & event planning.
November 2019: Topics include flu season, electrical devices, electric blankets, & podcast.
October 2018: Topics include winter driving, space heaters, employee safety & hail damage.
March 2018: Topics include hurricanes, mold & smoke detectors.
May 2018: Topics include Habitat for Humanity, campus crime, embezzlement claims, frozen pipes, mental health & employment law.
January 2018: Topics include designated drivers, sober sis programs, heat sensors, insurance basics, & legalization of marijuana in Canada.
June 2017: Topics include flood coverage, non-owned and hired automobile liability coverage, & grills.
March 2017: Topics include attic fires, heat sensors, risk control report & fire pits.
Increasingly, House Directors are expressing interest in keeping a pet in the chapter house. While this can be a perk of employment, it is important for you to consider the potential risks of having an animal, likely a dog, in the chapter house.
Ownership of any pet is a liability exposure. In light of recent claim activity and the corresponding risk management concerns, we ask that that any House Director with a pet secure a tenant’s policy (also referred to as “renter’s policy”) with a minimum liability limit of $500,000. In addition to requiring this tenant’s insurance, we recommend that the managing House Corporation require proof of insurance with a minimum liability limit of $500,000 from the House Director before allowing the House Director to have a pet on the premises.
We strongly discourage House Corporations from allowing the House Director to own or care for any of the following:
- Wild animals kept as pets, such as iguanas, snakes and tigers;
- Akitas, Alaskan Malamutes, American Straffordshire Terriers (or any of the variety/breed commonly known as “pit bulls”), Boxers, Chow Chows, Doberman Pinschers, Dogo Argentinos, Filas, German Shepherds, Huskies, Mastiffs, Presa Canarios, Rottweilers, Tosas and wolves/wolf mixes;
- Any dog trained as a guard or attack dog;
- Any animal/pet that needs to be restrained or confined to ensure the safety of people present in the same area;
- Any animal with a bite or other liability loss history.
In an increasingly litigious society, the number of dog bite claims has risen 48% over the last decade, with the total cost of claims reaching nearly $1.6 billion. This exposure is particularly concerning and it is crucial that any approved pet for a House Director or other animals in the chapter house (see our ESA article) not have a history of biting.
If your house corporation has any questions or concerns regarding house director pets or any other animals in the chapter house, please contact your Client Executive for more information.
Whether or not to quarantine sick members or employees at the chapter house is up to each individual chapter and house corporation to decide based on their organization’s guidance, their campus and local health department guidance, and the structure and layout of their individual facilities.
Many of our clients are feverishly preparing for their members to return to campus, both resident and non-resident. We can only imagine the stress and anxiety that you are facing as you navigate the opening of your chapter house. We appreciate you and your leadership as you face this challenge, you need to be confident in knowing that your organization has secured a comprehensive insurance policy to cover the entities and your exposure to liability.
As we have urged, we are confident that you will implement the COVID-19 CDC guidelines, you will have trained your staff on the procedures, and you will have educated all your collegiate members on the safety guidelines. Having done so and doing your best to get compliance, your liability will be significantly reduced. The standard is “what a prudent and reasonable person would do.”
During these chaotic times, the comprehensive insurance coverage that your organization has purchased hopefully gives you the freedom to make the best business decisions for your chapter or house corporation.
Safety measures are being implemented for not only your collegiate members, but just as importantly, for your employees. We recently had a question that we wanted to address for reference. The question was what should be done if the house director becomes ill with the COVID-19 virus.
Below are some points to consider:
- If the house director has a private entrance and bath, it can be much easier to quarantine an individual in this space. If the chapter house is her only home, you can have her stay at the house. Safety measures must be considered during her quarantine time (see our Things to Consider Before Reopening resource for further guidance).
- If there is no private entrance and bath, your options become more limited and must be carefully considered.
- In quarantine, she will not be able to perform her usual duties, so a temporary employee will need to be hired that would not necessarily need to live in the chapter house who could assume these duties.
- Should you hire an additional employee, we would ask that you contact us to discuss any insurance implications which are doubtful. Workers’ compensation laws are very strict, and we don’t want you being at odds with these conditions.
- The insurance company does not require that the person who is doing the traditional house director functions live in the chapter house, so this gives you more options to consider.
- We would encourage you to look to your university as they may have graduate students or past RAs that could be used for this temporary period.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact your Client Executive should you have additional questions or need further guidance.
Campus dynamics dedicate how each chapter and house corporation adapts
As a house corporation volunteer, you are in the midst of reviewing the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the chapter operations and the possibility/probability of your college or university being opened this fall academic semester and what that would look like. We have come to understand that each and every campus will be deciding the best option for its students and that the sorority chapters will undoubtedly have to follow their lead.
Thus, we think that this is a good time to make a connection with the appropriate university personnel who can help you also navigate this matter more effectively. As a means of trying to establish a relationship/partnership with the university, we are suggesting some basic questions that you may want to consider asking to get a sense of where the university is currently thinking which may ultimately help you gauge your direction. As a private organization, you will have the choice to make the decisions that work best for your house corporation and the chapter but sharing information can also be of some assistance in this very challenging matter.
Click here for the continually updated list of University’s plans from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Whom to contact at the university will vary by university, but we have seen many universities designated a COVID-19 taskforce. We recommend asking to speak to someone on the taskforce, if applicable. If that is not possible, the office of the Dean of Residential Life would be a great resource to connect with now, as well.
Consider determining the university’s position on the following:
- When will the decision be made by the university of their plans for the fall 2020 semester?
- Will you be encouraging your students to go home should they be tested positively for the COVID-19 virus?
- Will you provide quarantine/isolation rooms for all university students? Or just university housed students?
- Are you aware of any restrictions on a sorority to quarantine their members if they are in private fraternal housing?
- Have your faculty been advised on how to accommodate the needs of a quarantine student, such as online learning during their time of isolation?
- Will there be a specific cleaning service that the university is using that could also be used by the house corporations?
- Can we acquire cleaning solvents and supplies from the universities’ venders?
- Is there a chapter code of conduct in place currently from the university?
- Is there a university housing agreement in place that addresses the expectations of housing, should you choose to not close your chapter even though the university may be pushing all education online?
- Will the university be moving to house their students in single rooms from the typical two student room arrangements?
With the situation changing so frequently, please be sure you are reviewing the most updated version of this document and, as always, check with your national organization before taking any of these recommendations.
Whether or not to quarantine sick members at the chapter house is up to each individual chapter and house corporation to decide based on their organization’s guidance, their campus and local health department guidance, and the structure and layout of their individual facilities.
We have created some questions to consider in making the decision whether or not to quarantine sick individuals at the chapter house:
Exterior considerations
- Universities may have a quarantine area, but it may likely be only for university-housed students
- Campus health centers generally do not have overnight housing capabilities
- Transporting a known infected individual exposes more of the population to the virus should the student be forced to go home
- Students living in off-campus housing will likely self-quarantine
- Hospitals only have capacity for the most ill individuals, so a quarantine elsewhere will be required
Individual considerations
- The personal risk for serious illness from COVID-19 among the primary age-group of our student population is extremely low and those who do contract the illness are unlikely to need medical care
- Our member residents likely will not want to leave the chapter house and/or campus
Sorority considerations
- Does your housing agreement give you the permission to evict? Tenant laws are very liberal, so you may have trouble evicting a resident for non-compliance.
- It is difficult to isolate a person in many of our chapter facilities because of the recommendation for private rooms, bathrooms, etc.
- The delivery of food by employees poses an increased risk to our employees
- Does potential exposure to the virus by our employees bring on more workers’ compensation and employment practices liability exposure?
- How would volunteers coming on to your property feel about a known infected person on the property?
- If members know that they cannot stay at the house to be quarantines, are they more likely to be dishonest about their health?
- With no current immunity offered to businesses trying to re-open (though this is currently being proposed at the federal level), as you increase your duty of care, so too do you increase your potential liability.
- With enhanced education of best practices and close adherence to it, the isolation can be a low risk. The importance of education of your members remains one of the most critical parts of re-opening a chapter house and maintaining its operation.
- Creative solutions being explored will be necessary to be able to react quickly should a member become ill with the virus. Some examples we have heard mentioned:
- All campus house corporations jointly renting a four-bedroom apartment to serve as a quarantine site
- All members should be urged to have a “crash bag” that can be grabbed if they take ill or they have to move because a roommate becomes ill.
RELATED FAQ: WHAT LEGAL LIABILITY DOES A CHAPTER/HOUSE CORPORATION HAVE IF A MEMBER IS DIAGNOSED WITH THE COVID-19 VIRUS AND IS ALLOWED TO LIVE IN THE CHAPTER HOUSE UNDER A QUARANTINE OR ISOLATION ROOM?
Legal liability exists when:
- The wrongdoer (chapter house or corporation) is found guilty of “negligent conduct” meaning they breached a duty owed to the injured party
- The injured party suffers actual damages such as getting ill with the virus
- The wrongdoer’s negligent conduct is the proximate cause of the injury or damage
What actions during the COVID-19 crisis could possibly lead to the insured (chapter and/or house corporation) being found legally liable for an injury from the virus? Before we lay out some examples it is always important to remember that society and the courts generally only require that a person or entity act “as a reasonable and prudent person” and using their best, and most informed, judgement act accordingly.
Examples might be:
- Allowing an employee who is known to be infected with the virus to continue working
- Forcing an employee to continue to work in a chapter house where there are resident members who are ill and isolated at the house
- Failure to adhere to required health and prevention guidelines
- No efforts to educate your employees and/or members on the health and prevention guidelines
- Remaining open following an order by a civil authority to close
- Indiscriminate application of rules and guidelines for the members of how to safely live in the chapter house to not expose your sisters to the virus
There are numerous other scenarios; however, the major point is that there will be advice from experts like the CDC on how to follow health and prevention guidelines to keep your chapter house safe from spreading COVID-19. The key is to follow the health and prevention guidelines, educate your employees and members on these guidelines, and put measures in place to ensure their compliance of these guidelines. Should someone get injured or ill and allege they did so on your property, you will be able to confidently defend your position by having followed these best practices.