Am I liable for an employee theft?

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Am I liable for an employee theft?

I’m a franchise owner in ohio, former employee stoled money. He paid court cost and community service. Now my corporate company wants restitution from him if not they will collect it from me. No court order was made in regards to restitution. So former employee is not paying and corporate office states that I owe it now and they are going to take it from my monthly check. Since the client refused to pay bill until testitution is made. In the contract it states

Asked on November 10, 2016 under Criminal Law, Ohio

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

No, you are not legally liable for the criminal actions of your employee unless you were negligent in some way, such as in supervising him. That generally means you either knew or had reasonable grounds to suspect (that is, you logically should have known) that he was stealing or was likely to steal and, despite having that knowlege, negligently or carelessly failed to take action (such as terminating him, suspending him, or at least better securing the money); or if it can be shown that you were overall negligent in securing the money (such as you left cash in the open or a cash drawer open and easily accessed by anyone in the area). That is, you would only be liable if it can be shown in one way or another that your own carelessness contributed to the theft, in which case you can be held liable for your carelessness. But you would only be liable for your own actions or carelessness, not simply because you employed or managed the thief.


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