What should you do if you suspect employee theft?

What should you do if you suspect employee theft?

What should you do if you suspect an employee of theft?

1. Ask the employee to explain.
2. Ask the employee to take a polygraph test.
3. Decide whether to: press criminal charges. seek restitution. discipline the employee. fire the employee.

What happens if you get accused of theft in the workplace?

You could face charges of discrimination, wrongful discharge, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and assault if you follow through with terminating a protected employee. You may also face an unemployment claim filed by the employee.

Why does theft go undiscovered in the workplace?

The most likely reason employee theft goes undiscovered is a lack of operational standards or internal controls protecting the company. If precautionary standards aren’t in place, you should implement them. Here are some suggestions for how to prevent or discover theft or fraud in your workplace:

Can a company find out about employee theft?

Law would then cash the checks at a local check-cashing facility. By its very nature, employee theft isn’t easily discoverable. It can be broad and may involve company property, goods that are for sale to consumers, and cash or cash equivalents.

When does an employer terminate an employee for theft?

The first situation may arise when the employer selectively enforces its dishonesty policy. For example, an employer isn’t likely to terminate employees for stealing small items of little monetary value. But an employee who is terminated could turn that practice around and argue that your decision to fire her was arbitrary.

What to do if you suspect employee theft at your business?

When you suspect employee theft, you must take the proper steps to ensure that the tables aren’t turned. If you accuse an innocent employee of theft and that employee is a member of a protected class (women, minorities, the disabled, religious groups, and workers over the age of 40), they could accuse you of workplace discrimination.

How is employee theft a problem in America?

As we discussed in last month’s blog, employee theft is a huge problem. It can be as simple as a clerk at a store stealing from the cash register or taking money from customers and voiding the sale, to a more complicated theft such as employees falsifying their expense accounts or writing phony checks.

What are the different types of employee thefts?

Employee thefts run the gamut from nicking office supplies from the storage room and stealing from coworkers’ lockers to falsely filling out time sheets, mishandling company intellectual property, customer identity theft and worse.

What should you do if your employee is stealing your data?

Given the dire consequences of a data breach, every company should have policies and procedures in place for preventing data theft. Once you’ve investigated and concluded that an employee has been stealing, either assets or data, take the following steps: 1. Make sure your evidence is strong. Video is preferred, but witnesses can also work.