a sex offender (related to the CEO) is moving on to my team

A reader writes:

I’m looking for some serious help navigating an issue. An employee at my company is likely to be transferred to my team. This person was arrested last year for soliciting a minor for sex. They are related to the CEO of the company and were bailed out. They will stand trial sometime in the near future.

If anyone else were facing these charges, they would have been let go. This person has not and now I may have to deal with them on my team. I think the company’s stance is “innocent until proven guilty,” which I sort of get, but he was caught in a police sting where he was having explicit conversations with an officer posing as a teenager so public perception is pretty poor on this guy. Also, we have had former employees be charged with a crime and fired well before the trial. This is clearly a case of special treatment/nepotism.

If we take this person on, how do we address it with our team? Do we get it all out there in the open and roll with the “innocent until proven guilty” line? Do I decline discussing outside personal matters? I don’t want to lose my job over this, so taking the stance that this guy is gross and the company is gross for keeping him on doesn’t really work. But my team will have legitimate questions and concerns. How are we supposed to have team events where families are invited? I’m not bringing my daughters somewhere this guy is invited and my team members won’t want to either. Do I just give a canned response and direct everyone to HR?

I know readers will say that I should reconsider employment with this company, and maybe they are right and I need to hear it. But at the same time, I’ve worked here a long time and generally love it. There aren’t loads of jobs out there right now either.

First and foremost, stop having team events that family members are invited to while this guy is on your team. You can’t safely encourage people to bring kids around him, full stop. If that means you have to change the sorts of team events you have, then that’s what you have to do.

Beyond that, you absolutely 100% must ask HR for their guidance on how to manage this situation. You should do this for a few reasons: first, because your company has just dumped an enormous mess in your lap, and you shouldn’t be expected to figure out to navigate that alone. Second, there are potentially legal implications for how you talk about the situation, and you need to know how to navigate those correctly. (For example, in some states employers can’t take any adverse employment actions against an employee based on an arrest that hasn’t led to a conviction. I’m guessing you might not be in one of those states since your employer has done that in the past, but it also doesn’t sound like your employer is necessarily one we can assume would impartially follow the law, either.) Third, what are the company’s legal and ethical obligations around disclosure if, for example, you have team members whose minor children sometimes stop by the office? (Point out that legally, employers have an affirmative duty to protect employees, customers, and anyone else who comes in contact with the business from risks of harm that the employer knows about or should know about.) And fourth, how do they suggest you respond if team members come to you with concerns?

For that last one, if they suggest you respond to team members with language you’re uncomfortable using or can’t personally stand behind, you should feel free to add your own addendum of “I spoke to HR about this and the company’s stance is…” in front of it. And you might go on to explain that while you personally don’t have the authority to respond to their concerns, you encourage them to talk with HR themselves. In other words, there are ways to keep your job while still not taking personal responsibility for a decision you’re not comfortable with — and while pushing your company to grapple with these ethical issues rather than just dumping them on you.

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