Independent Contractor Theft

Has anyone had experience with IC theft?  Currently I have a client stating that they have one of our ICs on film stealing items from the client site.  My question is to what extent are we liable for their actions?  Any advised course of action for the employer to take to limit this liability, if any?  Any advice or previsou experience with this would be appreciated.

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  • [quote user="SubGrapHR"]Has anyone had experience with IC theft?  Currently I have a client stating that they have one of our ICs on film stealing items from the client site.  My question is to what extent are we liable for their actions?  Any advised course of action for the employer to take to limit this liability, if any?  Any advice or previsou experience with this would be appreciated.[/quote]

    Let's start by clearing up the language so you don't confuse anybody (like your own counsel or a jury) - are you an employer seeking advice or are you a business entity that has contracted a third party to provide a service to one of your clients?  Either you are an employer and we're talking about employment issues, or you have contracted someone to do stuff for you, and the relationship is B2B.  Please clarify in detail.

    One wonders why the client didn't simply call the police, since theft is a crime...

  • This is B2B.  We contracted this individual, who has his own business entity of one person, to perform the task.  And yes, I posed the same question to them as to why they did not contact the police immediately.  I did not receive a concise answer and feel they are placing the owness on my business, though this has not been stated outright.  Mind you, all this information came to fruition in the last 2 hours so police may be involved by day's end. 
  • After thinking about this some more, I think the status is not the critical point.  Companies contracting individuals have been successfully sued for the criminal acts of a contracted agent.  The only instances that come to mind involve violent crime.  I think this spans the boundary out of HR and squarely into the lap of your attorney.
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