Preventing Theft by Employees Explains Keith Clouse - Dallas Employment Lawyer

2008-06-16 03:37:21 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Dallas, Law)

Keith Clouse Dallas, Texas (WiredPRNews.com) — Unfortunately, theft by employees plagues many employers. Employees may commit theft by forging or destroying receipts, pilfering merchandise, exaggerating expenses, creating shipping or billing scams, and stealing office supplies.

To prevent such theft, Keith Clouse, a Texas employment lawyer, advises employers to:

• Conduct thorough background checks and contact personal references for all prospective employees.
• Implement controls to make it difficult for employees to steal. Such controls may include: third-party audits, spot-checks by high-level managers, keeping as little cash as possible on-site, rotating accounting and inventory responsibilities on a random basis, and carefully reviewing employee time records and expense reports.
• Increase security by locking away cash, rotating security personnel’s assignments, installing surveillance cameras, and requiring managers to closely supervise employees.
• Establish an open door policy to ensure that employees feel comfortable bringing concerns to a manager’s attention and/or establish an anonymous crime-watch hotline.
• Create policies regarding ethical behavior that both specifically prohibit theft and also obligate employees to report suspected theft. Require employees to sign statements to acknowledge that they received and understand these policies.

If an employer suspects an employee has committed theft, Mr. Clouse advises the employer to consult with legal counsel prior to taking action against the employee. For assistance in addressing employee theft issues, please contact the employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at info@cdklawyers.com.