Originally Published MX September/October
2002

BUSINESS PLANNING
& TECHNOLOGY

Managing Employment
Liability

A complete risk management program encompasses all types
of employee–employer relationships.

Joni E. Johnston

For most medtech executives, the concept of company legal risks
brings to mind issues of regulatory compliance and product liability exposure.
Recent United States Supreme Court decisions, however, in conjunction with some
key medical device industry trends, signal the need for medical technology companies'
risk management programs to include a strong employment liability component.

Employment liability diagnosis and management is indeed an area
of increased focus in the medical device industry. Three industry forces lie
behind this: the growth of global economic interrelationships, the recognition
by senior management that risk and reward decisions made within an organization
are interrelated, and the increasing evidence that top management decisions
regarding risk management affect shareholder value directly.

This article examines the current employment liability atmosphere,