On the nose

You just never know what's going to happen ... We learned today of a colleague who chose to send some perfume using the company's preferred courier. Somewhere along the way the package had a mishap and the perfume was spilled. Now you wouldn't think that that would cause too much of a stink (sorry, couldn't help myself). But wrong ... because our company regularly despatches materials which travel with a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) which gives vital safety information, and because there was no clear indication of what the liquid seeping from the package was, and whether it was dangerous, there was quite a flap. The outcome: it looks as though the company may be fined $50,000. Question arising from this: if the colleague who despatched the package did not have supervisor approval to use (and reimburse) the company account, would s/he be liable for paying the fine?