It is not normally within the scope of an employee's authority to commit an assault, and relatively few cases impose liability on an employer for an employee's assault. The default rule is that when an employee commits an assault, the employee ceases to act for his employer and the employee commits the assault only in furtherance of his own business or pleasure.  But when the nature of the employment is such that the employer authorized the employee to use force or the employee's assault was foreseeable to the employer, the employer may be liable for the employee's assault.