Business crimes may be committed by managers or employees who fulfill several requirements. First, the worker must act within their employment scope for an action to be termed a crime in the business environment. The court will sometimes hold the employer responsible for the employee's offense using the respondeat superior element. However, a third party may prove that the employee acted on their authority, and the court will charge the worker with the criminal offense. Second, the prosecutor must prove that the offender committed the crime to benefit the business. However, the law also holds criminal liability if their actions also do not help the organization but were business-like. Nevertheless, the court absolves the company from being liable for a criminal offense if the employee's criminal offenses contradicted the organization's best interests. Third, the worker's mens rea , which is the intent for committing the crime, should be attached to the business. The clause "willful blindness" makes an employee liable if intended to benefit the organization through a willful criminal offense. Thus, an employee's business offense may be committed, and the court may sometimes hold the employer liable for the employee's criminal offense.
In 2017, a Germany court found six Volkswagen executives liable for defrauding the company. The managers had deliberately misled customers and the authorities by intentionally refusing to expose a cheating device in "run-up to the diesel emission" in 2015 (Miller, 2020). According to the indictment that had 876 pages, three of the offenders had intentionally manipulated, refined, and developed illegal software at Volkswagen. The other three executive criminals were charged with aiding and abetting the offenses of their colleagues. The court also held that Volkswagen had illegally registered 9 million vehicles, and Germany-based vehicles had been exempted from paying tax wrongfully. In 2016, Volkswagen had sued Martin Winterkon, the previous chief executive officer (CEO), for a similar offense. The court also charged four Volkswagen workers for aiding the CEO's criminal offense. Therefore, Volkswagen employees committed a business offense, and the court held them liable for the criminal act.
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There has been increasing concern from employers about the prevalence of business crimes at the workplace, such as property and identity theft, violence, and embezzlement. Actions that could instigate litigation also include injuries and accidents while in the work environment (SHRM, 2019). Thus, employers resort to monitoring their employees to safeguard their property and organization from costly legal repercussions of employee behavior. However, firms must also consider organizational interests and institute reasonable privacy policies for employees. Besides, a technology that may be used to spy on employees while at the workplace is readily available.
Employers may track their workers' internet use, emails, and company telephone. Human resources play a vital role in creating intelligent monitoring systems that must be tailored for specific purposes and justified. However, the employee must ensure that employees are not uncomfortable with the surveillance atmosphere created by monitoring systems in place. Additionally, the employer should engage legal officers while creating the surveillance policy to ensure it does not violate employees' rights. The test tort of invasion for privacy, which contends that an employee may sue the company for invading their privacy, must be considered while creating monitoring systems (SHRM, 2019). Employees must be aware that they are not liable for any privacy while using company property. Furthermore, the law applies to public and private employees. Thus, management may instill surveillance systems, but they must comply with legal requirements.
References
Miller, J. (2020, January 14). Germany charges six Volkswagen executives over Dieselgate. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/7493759c-36c3-11ea-a6d3-9a26f8c3cba4
SHRM. (2019, October 24). Managing workplace monitoring and surveillance. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/workplaceprivacy.aspx
