When an Employee is Accused of a Crime......
Posted by: John Gilliland
July 26, 2007

Okay, I've been tardy again. The past two weeks have passed so quickly.

Last week I had the pleasure of being in San Antonio to speak at the ...home health line recruitment and retention conference. It was an excellent conference with wonderfully receptive and engaging attendees. My part was to discuss the legal issues that arise from recruitment and retention activities. I may address some of those in future postings on this blog.

Today, however, I want to mention something in the news that has an employment twist to it. Have you been following the Michael Vick matter? He is the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons who has been indicted in connection with dog fighting.

Some of the discussion in the media concerns what the Falcons should do in light of his indictment. Of course, in terms of the indictment, he is innocent of the charges until proven guilty. On the other hand, some are calling for the Falcons to take significant disciplinary action against him before the criminal proceedings are concluded.

What do you do as an employer if an employee is charged with a crime that you believe reflects poorly on your agency? Should you wait for the outcome of the criminal proceeding? Or, should you act on your own before guilt or innocent is determined in court?

Of course, what you want to do depends on the nature of the crime and the impact you believe it has on your agency. However, in general, I think you should retain the flexibility to act based on your own investigation of the situation rather than being bound to the outcome of the criminal proceeding.

There are reasons an individual may not be convicted of the crime, but you are still satisfied conduct occurred that requires disciplinary action. For example, certain evidence of guilt may not be admissible in the criminal proceeding, but you know it exists. Or, there may be a plea bargain that affects the criminal proceeding but not your own conclusion that the conduct occurred.

The point is that you may not want to be bound by the outcome of the criminal proceeding. There may not be enough evidence to convince a jury that a crime was committed beyond a reasonable doubt, but you are still satisfied conduct occurred that does not meet your agency's standards for its employees.

Do not say in handbooks that discipline may occur due to "conviction of a crime." Instead, say discipline may occur for "conduct that would constitute a crime and could adversely affect the agency's operations or reputation." Give your agency flexibility.

Permalink