With the recent news regarding various sexual harassment and rape allegations against businessmen and politicians, I was reminded of an article I read called “The Al Capone Theory of Sexual Harassment” that was put forth by the co-founders of The Seattle Attic Community Workshop. 

Remember that US Special Agent Eliot Ness picked up on a pattern in the Al Capone case that he was failing to pay taxes on the proceeds he received from smuggling booze.  And so Al Capone went away for tax evasion and not for the murders he had ordered.  Similarly, employees who engage in sexually predatory behavior also have faked expense reports, plagiarized or taken credit for other employee’s work, exaggerated their resume, embezzled or broke other company policies.  All of these behaviors are the actions of someone who feels entitled to other people’s property -- regardless of whether it’s someone else’s ideas, work, money, or body.

Organizations that understand the Al Capone theory of sexual harassment have an opportunity as they know that reports or rumors of sexual misconduct are a sign they need to investigate for other incidents of misconduct, sexual or otherwise. Sometimes sexual misconduct is hard to verify because a careful perpetrator will make sure there aren’t any additional witnesses or records.  So, when looking into allegations regarding sexual misconduct, become the Human Resource departments Eliot Ness by taking a wider look at the employee’s conduct and look for other areas of misconduct that might be easier to identify. 

For more assistance with dealing with employee performance issues and investigating claims of in appropriate behavior, contact Total Team Solutions which has 30 years of experience dealing with these types of issues.  Contact John Morlock at 800-836-9678, ext. 5, or email at jmorlock@ttspro.com.

ABOUT TOTAL TEAM SOLUTIONS:  Total Team Solutions is a Human Resources Outsourcing company providing payroll, benefits administration and human resource advisory services to small businesses in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey.  We can tailor our services to each client’s specific needs to provide the support that they need at a price they can afford; all while saving them time so they can focus their efforts on running and growing their businesses.