Stealing Time Hours from Work

[Touge12]

My question involves criminal law for the state of Louisiana: I been caught for clocking into work and not working at a casino in Louisiana. I would get my friend to clock me in on my off days. They said im suspended pending investigation before being terminated. What is going to happen? Can I go to jail? Must have did it around 30-40 hours at 7.25 which comes out to 290 at most.

[PandorasBox]

You can count on being terminated and not eligible for Unemployment.

The amount being $290 doesn't matter. You can expect court costs, fines, and restitution. And can count on having a criminal record that will be haunting you for years. You should get a Criminal Defense attorney.

[cbg]

Disagree with Pandy to a point. This is not a criminal matter. It is a wage and hour issue.

You will be fired. You will not get unemployment. You will not have any court fees or criminal record. You will not go to jail. But your former employer is free to tell prospective employers why you were fired, so you may have trouble getting a new job.

[PandorasBox]

Thanks for the correction. Thought the courts would be involved somehow.

one other thing: Job applications are going to have these questions on them: Last employer, dates, why you left. If you lie about why you left, an employer can easily find out the truth.....

[jk]

Disagree with Pandy to a point. This is not a criminal matter. It is a wage and hour issue.

gotta disagree with ya cbg. It can be a criminal matter. The employer would have to file a complaint for it to go that way but it absolutely could be prosecuted as criminal. In fact, both parties involved could be prosecuted. Whether they are or not is up to whether the employer files a complaint and then, if the prosecutor takes it on.

Stealing via unworked hours is really no different than taking money out of the till. It's just the specific action that makes the difference but they are both stealing from the employer.

[cbg]

Very unlikely, though. Quicker, cheaper and easier for the employer to dump him, contest unemployment, and be done with it. There's no incentive in this case for the employer to take it beyond a wage and hour level. If the OP is correct about the amount he stole, it would cost more than that for one hour of the corporate attorney's time. If he'd faked hours worked in the amount of ten grand, that's different.

[jk]

Very unlikely, though.

It's really up to the employer. I have seen it prosecuted. The amount was much greater though. While it is typically called time clock fraud, it boils down to simple theft.

§67. Theft
A. Theft is the misappropriation or taking of anything of value which belongs to another, either without the consent of the other to the misappropriation or taking, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations. An intent to deprive the other permanently of whatever may be the subject of the misappropriation or taking is essential.


B.(1) Whoever commits the crime of theft when the misappropriation or taking amounts to a value of one thousand five hundred dollars or more shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than ten years, or may be fined not more than three thousand dollars, or both.


(2) When the misappropriation or taking amounts to a value of five hundred dollars or more, but less than a value of one thousand five hundred dollars, the offender shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or may be fined not more than two thousand dollars, or both.


(3) When the misappropriation or taking amounts to less than a value of five hundred dollars, the offender shall be imprisoned for not more than six months, or may be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both. If the offender in such cases has been convicted of theft two or more times previously, upon any subsequent conviction he shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or may be fined not more than two thousand dollars, or both.


C. When there has been a misappropriation or taking by a number of distinct acts of the offender, the aggregate of the amount of the misappropriations or taking shall determine the grade of the offense.

[cbg]

I don't disagree that it can happen. What I'm saying is that the odds are very much against it happening in this case. Yes, it's up to the employer. But for $290? Isn't gonna happen - I'll lay odds on that.

[indybail]

I just don't see a prosecutor pursuing it. I would hazard a guess it would be different if the employer were the government. You only seem to see these "Ghost Employment" prosecutions filed against government officials and employees.

[jk]

this is not a ghost employee in the manner it is usually seen in the governmental sector. Those situations are usually a fictitious person or the employee actually has never actually worked for the entity involved. This is simple theft.

also, the employer is a casino. I don't know how the casinos deal with people down there but up here, they prosecute any crime very vigorously as it tends to dampen any similar ideas that any other employee might have had. With as much money floating around as a typical casino deals with, they cannot afford to be lax in pushing for the prosecution of anybody that has committed a crime against them.