NCJ Number
120447
Date Published
1988
Length
398 pages
Annotation
Employee theft is a problem for all employers, but employers are limited by legal restrictions, fear of civil liability, concerns over corporate reputation, and disagreement over the nature of the problem and the best solution.
Abstract
Losses due to employee theft are estimated at between $15 and $25 billion annually. Corporate resistance to revealing the extent of such losses is a major impediment to measuring the size of the employee theft problem. In comprehensively examining employee theft and its control, the report combines practical advice from corporate loss prevention directors, human resource professionals, and management consultants and analyzes legal restrictions on efforts to combat employee theft. The report specifically qualifies and describes the scope of the employee theft problem; surveys techniques used by employers to minimize employee theft by job screening, employment policies, and management controls; and analyzes employer liability for wrongful discharge and defamation. The report also describes ways to recover employer losses due to theft; discusses management tools to protect trade secrets and confidential information; presents case studies of employer programs in the manufacturing, retail, and financial sectors; and charts relevant Federal and State legislation. Appendixes contain the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, a survey of employee theft law by State, and employment-related forms.