In
our last issue, we looked at some ideas about how to
investigate, catch, and terminate employees who are stealing from
your company. In this conclusion, we'll talk about some ways to
avoid—or at least reduce the possibility of—getting
sued by those same thieves.
Admissions Of Guilt
This seems like a simple piece of advice, but it's crucial:
if an employee admits to the theft, ask for a written confession.
As with any other witness statement relating to an investigation,
this should be in the employee's own handwriting. Managers
should also be taught that the Law and Order hot-boxing method of
extracting written confessions could easily backfire. If the
circumstances under which the employee gives the confession can be
characterized as coerced, a jury may choose to ignore it. To this
end, allow an employee to leave the interview and go to another
area where the investigators are not hovering around as the
document is prepared.
