Home › Theft & dishonesty › Larceny by an employee
The whole idea in one picture
The stealing itself is ordinary — it's the trust behind it that changes everything. An employer let you in, and that's what lifts the penalty above plain theft.
It's taking your employer's property while you work for them — anything from petty cash to company funds. Common examples:
Employers tend to spot a pattern before police are involved — then the records do the rest:
Where it's heard depends on how much was taken and how complex it is:
Penalties where you are
Charged as larceny by a clerk or servant. Lower-value matters can stay in the Local Court, up to 2 years.
These cases often turn on whether the taking was dishonest — or just a misunderstanding about what you were allowed to do:
The property wasn't taken dishonestly.
A genuine mistake about your authority to use it.
You honestly believed you were entitled to the money or goods.
You acted under threat or coercion.
Whether it was dishonest or an honest misunderstanding about your authority is often the whole case — and repayment can shape the outcome. We can point you to lawyers in your state.
Read this first
This page explains how these charges generally work — it can't tell you what will happen in your case. Employee theft is charged under each state's larceny or theft laws, with the breach of trust treated as serious. If you're under investigation or charged, talk to a criminal lawyer before answering questions.
