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Employee Arrested
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Employee Arrested
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We recently had an employee arrested in the parking lot of our office building. He was released and back at work the same day. Due to the fact that he was released on the same day and we had no inform
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Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » Employee Arrested
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Employee Arrested
posted at 7/20/2009 8:36 AM EDT
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Posts: 2
First: 7/16/2009 Last: 7/20/2009 |
We recently had an employee arrested in the parking lot of our office building. He was released and back at work the same day. Due to the fact that he was released on the same day and we had no information regarding the nature of the incident we did not pursue any disciplinary action towards him.
Now two weeks later one of our employees has come across a newspaper article that indicates him by name for a very serious charge. Moreover, that employee has looked up local police records and has found the reason for the arrest that occurred at work. I honestly don’t know if he is still being looked at for this crime and I am not sure if he may be arrested again. But the fact of the matter is, his name has been published by a NEWSPAPER indicating that he has involvement in a very serious crime. Is there anything that we can legally do to put our other employee’s minds at ease? Can we issue a suspension without putting the company in the position for unfair discrimination? |
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Employee Arrested
posted at 7/20/2009 9:39 AM EDT
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
Let's start with the basics. An arrest is not a conviction. It simply means this person may have committed a crime, that the government believes it has sufficient evidence to try this person and that is all. The government doesn;'t have to even have enough evidence to convict them.
With all of that said as an employer you may be able to suspend this person, pending an outcome of the situation, and be reasonably safe from legitimate claims of wrongful discrimination. The nature of the offense, the type of business you have and the responsibilities of this person all come into play. You have to weigh those things based upon facts and not what employees think. Should you choose to do nothing your employees need to understand this is not a workplace issue and attempts by them to make it so are disruptive to the workplace. Should you lean toward suspension not only is good documentation important but I would suggest review with either your corporate counsel or knowledgable outside counsel. Don't rely on on some generalist, get an employment law specialist. |
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Employee Arrested
posted at 7/21/2009 8:10 AM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I totally side with HRPro. This is going to be very dependent on the specific details and I would not feel comfortable making the decision without very competent employment/labor law counsel. Because you also have to throw state laws (and possibly laws that protect behavior outside of the workplace from being held against an employee).
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Employee Arrested
posted at 7/21/2009 8:34 AM EDT
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Posts: 410
First: 1/26/2006 Last: 11/15/2010 |
Hi:
Both posts above contain good thoughts. Bottom line you should seek the advice of an employment lawyer in your state insofar that suspension would probably be considered an adverse employment action on the basis of arrest, which would be illegal is certain states. I trust this information is helpful. Dave Arnold, Ph.D., J.D. |
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