Workplace theft comes in many forms and is hard to stop, but employers can reduce it by taking a wide range of proactive steps, running surveillance as allowed by the law and conducting prompt investigations.
"Workplace theft ranges from office supplies under $100 to setting up false business transactions resulting in millions of dollars in losses and just about anything between," said Teresa Hardymon, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Columbus, Ohio.
Employees have been known to steal both physical assets and electronic information. Preventing and tracking the theft of data can be more difficult than stopping physical theft.
Employees typically take two categories of valuable and sensitive data: competitive information and personal information, said Zoe Argento, an attorney with Littler in Denver.
Competitive information could include customer contact lists. Personal information—such as employees' Social Security numbers, health insurance numbers and financial account numbers—might be used for identity theft, she said. Employees also might sell this information on illicit trading websites for substantial amounts of money.
Or employees could take information to embarrass a co-worker or customer. "I've seen cases where furious employees posted health information about co-workers on social media to humiliate them," Argento said.
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