Category: Brownness

As an employer, I have seen varying ranges of things employees do, but the most frustrating is employee theft. I understand how dispiriting it is to discover someone put in a position of trust violates that trust. Yet it is important to follow certain standards before accusing and firing them. I also realize there is an instinct to garnish wages, involve the authorities or threaten to, but it is important to have protocols in place.  Moreover, there are limited things you can do as an employer, but if done right can let other employees know this type of behavior is taken very seriously.

There are fundamental things that need to be kept in mind

1. Gather documents. It’s important to preserve all possible evidence when conducting an investigation. If an employee is suspected of stealing, IT should be engaged to copy the employee’s work center, whether it’s a register or a computer, and download and preserve e-mails. Copies should be made of all documents related to an employee’s job, including time cards, punch records, data access records of when employees come and go, and video surveillance of the premises.
2. Contact legal counsel. Before taking any action regarding disciplinary action, suspension or termination, consult legal counsel. There are certain considerations regarding recovery of the goods or monies that were stolen, which may be jeopardized if the employee is terminated. In addition, even if the facts support termination, the overly-broad communication of those facts or the manner in which the termination is conducted can create the risk of liability for discrimination, invasion of privacy, defamation, or intentional torts.
3. Relax and be careful about what is said. Once an employer has received confirmation that an employee is guilty of theft and the employer is ready to confront the employee with that information, the employer should be careful of how or what is said during this meeting. The employer should not approach the suspected employee while still angry or emotional, which could create a volatile or explosive situation at the work place. The suspected employee should be approached calmly to discuss his or her employer’s concerns. Employers should be careful not to refer to the employee as a “thief.” This type of reference can lead to a defamation lawsuit.
4. Do not deduct amounts from the employee’s paycheck. California law imposes very strict limits on the circumstances under which an employer is permitted to deduct amounts from an employee’s paycheck. Even if an employer suspects an employee of stealing, seek legal advice before deducting the value of stolen items or cash from the employee’s paycheck.
5. Recovering stolen property

   The most common legal question presented by workplace theft is “Can the money or items be recovered?” Many times the answer is yes, if the employer acts properly to investigate, document evidence and involve legal counsel early, and the loss is significant. If counsel is engaged early on in the investigation, they can seek court orders to freeze an employee’s assets and have property returned.

So I get that most do not like the idea of using a lawyer for minor things, but it amazes me that many consider being involved in an auto accident or a first time DUI as a minor thing. Listen, I get it. We all see the ads, and the promises of getting rich quick or low-cost DUIs, but the reality is you need a professional by your side to deal with insurance companies or when fighting a DUI because both are institutions that do not care about the individual. One focuses on profits, and the other on technicalities which can have far-reaching consequences.

Regardless of how minor you think it is, check with a professional whether it be a doctor or a lawyer. It really is not worth finding out the hard way that there are things that could prevent or reduce consequences. That is not a lesson you want to learn while on a hospital bed or at the courthouse. The choice is yours.

Make it an informed one.

The last few weeks have not gone as planned. Take for example, yesterday where I planned to write, work out, work and then go to my writers group. Instead, I slept in, went to my annual physical where the doctor told me I had “too much belly,” and then rushed to get my blood work done while late for a meeting at work. Then at the meeting, a throbbing headache started and next thing I knew I was in the midst of a full-blown migraine. My amazing wife took care of me, and tried all sorts of things to ease my pain, and then the day ended.

At first, there was this constant knocking in my brain that I lost the day. Then it hit me that I failed to work out 5 days a week last week, and then I didn’t meditate regularly, and I wrote only a few days, and was unable to visit all my studios. On and on, the noise went until I took a breath and remembered what I committed my buddy Jayden. I would not get attached to results, and what things should look like. I get to powerful, calm and loving even if that came down to just applying that to me. Which I do not do very often. I get to stop beating myself up, and accept the days as they are not as I wish for them to be. This is not to say I am abdicating responsibility. It just means that I get to do what I can, and not get attached to how it should be, but how it is.

I get to accept, and know that beating myself up only bruises me, and does not make me stronger. Acceptance does. Today is a new day, a new moment, an opportunity to make the most of it regardless of the results.

The last few weeks have been a blur. Between work, trying to work out 4-5 days a week, watching over my dad as he recovered, and ensuring I helped Preeti with Holiday shopping, it hit me that the year ends in almost two weeks. 2015 almost gone. I need to take a moment to assess what worked and what didn’t. There are so many things that  did, but almost a few major that didn’t, and in that lies the opportunities for a better a 2016. Those are the gaps that get to be filled. They are the ones that will lead to a better me. So here goes.

1. Love more. More than anything else, that matters the most. From showing my wife why she is the amazing person that makes me feel lucky daily to my loved ones.
2. Travel. It’s time to see new places and things.
3. Be Published.  It is time to turn professional and get out there.
4. Be Fit. It’s time to be able to do pull ups and get down to my ideal weight.
5. Be in Service. It is time to do more in the community.
6. Declutter. Not only my life, but by work and library space.
7. Save. It is time to invest and better set up my future..
8. Practice law. I get to increase my client base.
9. Social. It is time to reconnect with old friends and create new ones.
10. Mindfulness. It is time to be present in as many moments as possible,

I sit here, body still sore from last Saturday’s Spartan race. It was the last leg for my trifecta in which I ran three races in one year, all varying lengths.  In a way, this should have been the easiest at 4.5 miles, considering we had done a 9 and 13 mile ones, but this turned out to be the most challenging for me as I experienced the one thing I feared during a race.

I lost both my contact lenses  in the first mile, which, in effect, made me half blind. So I posted one of my slowest times, and my friend Vishal was a great sport about it. I did sulk for almost a mile after about the lenses, and then it hit me. It wa done with. I could go on and on brooding about it or I could just keep going. And then it changed. Took a breath. New moment. And from then, I enjoyed the race.  It’s the same in life. I keep being challenged, and I get to learn to treat it as new moments, and not just brood on what did not happen. It’s not easy when things don’t go as we want, but then again it’s how you react to it that defines you.

So yeah, I am quite proud of this race.  Now, it comes to make new goals. New moments. New Memories. New trifectas.

It was a bitter cold morning. I walked what felt like a mile to the starting line. I was the first from the group to get there, and I took in the spectacle that Long Beach Turkey Trot. A food bank van collected cans and other non-perishables. I was a bit cranky at the lack of sleep and wondered yet again what the hell I was doing at 730am on Thanksgiving running a 10K. Well, more like jogging at 1 hour 15 minutes, but whose counting? Yet I met my group of 20 with my ex-personal trainer who got me to do this run every day (5 years now).

Upon finishing, I rushed out to another place three miles away. A church where for the first ten minutes, I was overwhelmed at the amount of people who had show to volunteer to serve the less fortunate, and stood around unsure what to do. Then I went to the back, and saw my old job waiting for me, washing pots and pans. I did that for a year at UCLA and immediately dove in. I said hi to my family members (over 10 of them showed to help). It was an amazing feeling to see so much of my family show due to a simple text by me asking for support. We worked till 3pm, and then we headed home.

We got to getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was during that time that I realized we had just created a new tradition as many of my loved ones said they would love to the Turkey Trot then go serve. It wa a full Thanksgiving, but you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.