Visitor Question

Can I sue my husband’s employer if they knew about his affair at work?

Submitted By: J (Monroe, LA)

I discovered my husband was having an affair with a coworker. He is a school bus driver and she is an attendant on the bus. I found out by looking at his cellphone record. I called the number and she said immediately, “This is Mrs. ___, yes, I know (my husband), I work with him on the bus. I have a husband.”

Mrs. ___ stated and made an excuse to get off the phone. My husband denied the affair and when I called the woman back I was told I had the wrong number. My husband has an alcohol problem, and when I told the other woman she said she’s going to get a transfer. She never said she did not know he had an alcohol problem.

My husband put me out of the house after I attempted suicide, and secretly applied for divorce and put a false temporary restraining order (TRO) against me. Months later, I reviewed the cellphone record and realized the affair had been going on for two years.

Here we are, a year later, going into the final divorce settlement, and my husband has quit one job (citing health problems with gout as the reason), is months behind on spousal support, and the affair continued up until at least a few months ago.

They still work together, even after the company was notified of his alcoholism and the affair. I’ve suffered so much emotional distress because of this situation. I’m wondering, can I sue my husband’s employer because they knew about the affair? Is there anything else I can do about this? Thank you.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear J,

Unfortunately, from the facts you present there doesn’t appear to be a legal basis upon which you can succeed in a lawsuit against the school district. Whether or not the school district knew about your husband’s alcoholism is effectively irrelevant for your purposes.

In the event his alcoholism resulted in his having caused an accident resulting in injuries to students or other third parties, the injured parties would have grounds to sue not only your husband, but the possibly the school district as well.

The district would be liable if they knew, or should have known your husband was an alcoholic, and his alcoholism was a factor in a collision and its resulting injuries.

Your only legal rights would be within the divorce proceeding. Moreover, it does not appear you have a legal cause of action against the woman with whom your husband had an affair. But the affair itself may be a useful tool for leverage in your divorce settlement.

Learn more here: Compensation for Emotional Distress

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

Published:

One comment on “Can I sue my husband’s employer if they knew about his affair at work?

  1. Allison says:

    I read the wife’s entry about her husband’s cheating. I live in a state, North Carolina, that allows a spouse to sue the woman (or man) for having an affair with a married man (or woman) It is called “Alienation of Affection”.

    In your case, the woman he had the affair with, ruined your marriage and severed (cut off) your husband’s emotional and physical relationship with you. It has caused you great mental anguish and emotional distress.

    It may have even caused financial problems in your household, if he was spending money on her and didn’t contribute the same amount to household bills because of this reason.

    I do not know if your state is one that has this law in the books. There are only 7 or 8 states that still have this law on the books. The one bad thing about this is if the woman is not wealthy, you probably won’t get much money, if any. But, you may make the affair public to humiliate your husband and the woman involved.

    This is a civil suit, not one where the police would arrest the woman. Similar to a car wreck where you are injured and you might get money for the mental suffering and stress from the accident.

    Hope this helps. When you file the suit, you can ask that your attorney fees be paid by her. Her house insurance or umbrella policy (if she has one) may pay on this civil suit.

    Get a free consult with an attorney, if the Alienation law is in your state. GOOD LUCK!!

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