15 Examples of Misconduct in the News - January 2024

A look into the Sex, Financial, and Violent Crimes that made headlines this month

We’re only a couple weeks into 2024 and workplace misconduct has been a major source of news. Some of the most problematic and impactful of the misconduct-related headlines center around sexual misconduct, financial crimes, and even violence.

Check out the top headlines from this month:

Sexual Misconduct

1. How to Avoid Hiring Sexual Predators Like Jeffrey Epstein or His Clients (Fama)

2. Disney Embroiled in Lawsuit Alleging Concealment of Executive’s Sexual Misconduct (Law Commentary)

3. Entertainment Industry Employees More Aware of Misconduct But Lack Trust in Work Culture, Survey Finds (Variety)

4. Improved Awareness But Not Accountability: Anita Hill’s Hollywood Commission Releases Second Workplace Abuse Survey (The Hollywood Reporter)
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More than 5,000 entertainment industry workers responded, and even the men are starting to agree that the powerful have not been held accountable.

5. Nenad Marovac returns to work at DN Capital following external investigation into alleged workplace misconduct (Sifted EU)
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“The firm say that an externally led investigation by a law firm found no reliable evidence of workplace misconduct at DN Capital.”
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“Two former employees who alleged sexual harassment and misconduct at DN to Sifted and participated in the investigation by Withers say that they have not been communicated any of the findings.”

6. Sexual harassment trial against US judiciary comes to close (Reuters)

7. A Girls’ High School staffer has been removed after alleged ‘professional misconduct’ (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

The principal noted that district staff “must not engage in any form of inappropriate communications with students, and must at all times interact with students in a professional manner."

8. Mecklenburg County HR director resigns after 1 year (WBTV)

“Emanuel Stanley claims the accusations of workplace misconduct were manufactured against him after he began warning his supervisors about another safety issue in the office.”

9. One of Boston’s Most Powerful Chefs Suddenly Closes 5 Restaurants (Bon Appetit)

“The chef’s alleged behavior over the years, such as accounts of alcohol abuse, verbal abuse of staff, sexual contact, and violent threats—outbursts were somewhat of an open secret in Boston’s kitchens.”

Financial Crimes

10. Oregon newspaper lays off entire workforce after employee fraud (HR Grapevine)

11. Whistleblower Alleges Fraud, Forgery, and Workplace Misconduct at Chicago Dealership (BNN)

12. CEO's wrongful dismissal claim ends in half-a-million-dollars award for employer (Human Resource Director)

“CEO misappropriated funds, awarded himself significant bonuses”

Violence

13. Set a standard.' Panthers interim coach dodges Tepper controversy as fans weigh in on $300K fine (QC News)

14. Florida man allegedly posted on social media that he planned racially motivated mass violence: DOJ: Officials have repeatedly said they are concerned about domestic extremism. (ABC News)

15. Officer dismissed following misconduct hearing (Metropolitan Police)

“An officer has been dismissed from the Metropolitan Police Service after a misconduct hearing found he lied about an incident where a member of the public was arrested, and had force used on him.”

Workplace misconduct is a wide-spread problem, impacting the victims of misconduct, employees and customers, as well as organizations at large. And unfortunately, misconduct this year is only expected to get worse. Data shows that misconduct increases during times of uncertainty, between the current economic unknowns, ongoing wars, and upcoming elections, it’s important to be prepared for the unknown.

Regulators have noted this trend and have taken steps to mitigate misconduct over the last several years. As an example, a Delaware court actually extended liability of misconduct to CHROs and corporate officers last year.

If your company is looking to prevent misconduct and improve quality of hire, learn how Fama’s modern candidate screening detects misconduct at work.

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