Innocent - at least for now

ray a

Last week an ee was arrested for the following: possession of hashish, hallucinagenic mushrooms, homemade bomb casings and bombs... oh and a 8' snake. Actually, these items were found in his apartment which was shared with another individual. He was released on bail and I have allowed him to return to work based on innocence until proven guilty and that all we know is what was published in the newspaper. His supervisor has talked to the ee's mother, and of course there is another side to the published story. I believe this ee is no threat in our work envirnoment and see no problem with him being here at this time. Conviction will change things. Some other ee's have expressed concern believing we should not allow him to return to work. How would you handle this situation?

Don D

I would suspend him with pay unless he is indicted. If indicted by a federal grand jury, I would continue the suspension without pay. If he had all of that in his posession, he will be tried in federal court, if indicted, and the ATF boys rarely act like keystone cops. disregard the snake. Just wondering, what did this guy bring on 'pot-luck' day?

ray a

On what basis would you suspend? He has broken no company policies during work hours that we can prove. There was another adult male living in the same apartment. We do not know what belonged to whom. There have been reports that the bombs were actually fireworks. Legal 12 miles away in PA albeit, illegal here in NY. He previously passed a drug screen at work.

LarryC

Hi, Ray. Nice mess you have. Boy, just from what you have written here, I would say you have reasonable cause to drug test him at the very least. In light of what he was arrested for, you could suspend him with pay until the matter is resolved. And, considering the presence of the snake, I would say that the matter is a serious one. Someone who lives there is "networking" the goods, therefore there is knowledge on the street of the goods, therefore the snake to "discourage" intruders.

Reading between the lines here, it sounds like your employee is in good standing with you and that the guilt will possibly (probably?) lie with the other individual. You have more information than you are giving us that leads you to believe that your employee is not a danger. If the rest of your employees don't "buy" it, then suspend him with pay or suspend him with the promise to backpay if he earns an acquital.

Mushrooms, bombs, and snakes, oh my!

nohr4u1yr

Let's not forget that the employees supervisor needs to be very careful of what he/she says to the "innocent until proven guilty" employee...

Crout

If it is Federal, try calling the US Attorney's office to find out what he's charged with. The EE should also know who arrested him, and you can try contacting them. I wouldn't go by what's in the newspaper. If they give you any indication that he's dangerous then you need to decide to either suspend or possibly terminate.

hhaynal

Ray,

You and I were out drinking last night and I saw you get totally wasted....hammered.....so rip roaring drunk you could barely stand up. And during our conversation you alluded to the fact that you may have done drugs recently.

Next morning I get to work and immediately contact HR boss and tell her all about the previous evening. You report to work on time and fit for duty, but to your surprise, HR calls you in and says, Ray, I have reason to believe you are in violation of the company's alcohol and drug abuse policy. Report to the company nurse for testing, and expect disciplinary action to follow.

Let's take it one step further, Ray. You were sooooooo hammered last night, even though I tried to stop you, you drove home and got in an auto accident --- fatally killed the driver of the other car. Civil and criminal charges are pending.

HR wants you immediately terminated.

All kidding aside now, like I posted in another thread, be careful to discipline for off-duty conduct that have no effect on your job performance. Check the case law, I just did recently for an incident similar to that above. Vermont court came in favor of company discipline, but only because of the circumstances. Generally courts will find against the employer for disciplining employees for off-duty conduct that does not have a causal connection or nexus to their job performance.

Tread softly and carry a big stick!

Don D

Well, Raymond, with the exception of me and Florida, most of the yankee states have weighed in regarding their cautionary feelings. You asked on what basis I would suspend. Oh, well, I don't know, let's see...try being arrested by federal ATF agents, being charged with posession of illegal drugs and bomb making equipment and in posession of an animal prohibited by the state statutes from being kept in a residence. Those might satisfy me for starters. I would consider the individual a potential danger to the employees of my company and would want him absolved before I have him back on the property.

Then let's say I get a case of "The Vermont Itch" and get real touchy-feely and call up Sen. Pat Leahy and he advises I should not worry at all about this mess and I let the guy come on in to work. Two days later, his desk and everything around it including his head is blown to smithereens and we can't find two employees except for a few casual body parts. How many nights will it be before I get to sleep?

LeeR

Ray--There are different levels of proof required for different actions. For instance in criminal proceedings you need beyond a resonable doubt for a guilty finding and probable cause for an indictment or issuing a search warrant. What lead the police to get a warrant to search the ee's place of residentce or was the warrant made out in the name of the other person who lives there. I would check into this before acting. Termination of employment need not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Check with your attorney for the particulars in your state. My concenrn would be if the warrent was issued for my ee and he had all these drugs, are they for personal use or is he using the workplace for a customer base? Just thoughts from left field.

Whatever

What a mess.
First of all, mothers are never the best witnesses (I'm one and I tend to look at my kids through rosy glasses). Second, I find it hard to believe that the ee did not know what was in his apartment. Third, the items found had to get there in somebody's vehicle.

I, however, am very concerned by the fact that he has not been found guilty of anything. I would consult with an attorney, but my strong inclination would be to allow him to work.