Zhengzhou employee dies after home WeChat overtime (17:00-20:25). Company refused compensation, but court upholds work injury ruling, rejecting retrial. Home sales work is duty extension.
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Employee Dies Suddenly After Working Overtime at Home, Company Refuses Compensation
In March 2023, Li Gang joined a Zhengzhou technology company in sales. On April 17, he continuously communicated with customers and handled official duties like product listing via WeChat from around 17:00 to 20:25, and later died suddenly at home.
After the incident, the local police station issued a certificate confirming intact doors/windows and ruling out criminal cases. Forensic doctors from a Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau branch initially determined his death time as 19:00-22:00 that day (sudden death), and the certificate is legally valid.
The district Human Resources and Social Security Bureau deemed Li’s death a work-related injury. The company refused to accept this, sued the bureau and district government, and after first and second trials, applied for a retrial.
In court, the company argued Li had only worked for a month with low intensity, took two days off before the incident, and its overtime ban meant his home work was voluntary, not a duty extension. It also claimed insufficient death time evidence, over-reliance on WeChat records, and that work-related injury recognition would burden its operation.
The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau cited DingTalk, QQ and WeChat records, plus colleague testimonies, that Li handled sales duties. It argued employees’ home overtime for the company’s benefit should count as working hours and post.
The court clarified the dispute: whether Li’s sudden death during home WeChat work qualified as a work-related injury under Article 15, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the "Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance". It held the labor relationship was confirmed, home sales work was a reasonable duty extension, and death time highly coincided with working hours.
The regulations aim to protect employees ill at work. Supreme People’s Court precedents stress "work post" depends on duty performance, not just employer requirements. The court rejected the company’s retrial and upheld the work-related injury recognition.
Source: 申工社
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