Strip-search pranks dupe unsuspecting store managers

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Lynn Bruner is director of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's St. Louis District, which covers Kansas, Missouri and part of Southern Illinois.|ret||ret||tab|

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Imagine the following scenario: You are the manager of a food service establishment in a small town. One morning you receive a call from someone who identifies himself as a detective assigned to the local police department. The "detective" tells you that one of your female employees has been accused by a customer of having stolen money from the customer's purse. You are instructed to immediately conduct a strip-search of the female employee to ascertain whether or not the employee has hidden the cash on her person. |ret||ret||tab|

Believe it or not, there are numerous establishments throughout the nation that have received such calls. And, believe it or not, there are many managers who are doing as instructed.|ret||ret||tab|

Sound far-fetched? We at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission thought so the first time we received a charge of employment discrimination alleging such an action, which was a number of years ago. But after we received charges against four different establishments in the St. Louis jurisdiction within the last year, we had to take it seriously and conclude that there was more going on. |ret||ret||tab|

Our suspicions were confirmed by the March 22, 2004, edition of Nation's Restaurant News.|ret||ret||tab|

"Police nationwide are looking for a serial telephone prankster who, posing as a cop or chain official, convinces restaurant managers to strip-search employees in a bogus hunt for purportedly stolen money, drugs or guest valuables." The report quotes one police official as estimating that the caller has tricked restaurant managers, and a few supermarket unit managers, into conducting strip-searches of employees at least 50 times since 1999. More recently, local media outlets have picked up the story and publicized an occurrence.|ret||ret||tab|

When a company's managers fall for this scam there are many ways in which the company can suffer. One is loss of reputation if the manager who conducted the search is subjected to criminal prosecution, or if word of the event drifts around the community and catches media attention. Civil actions may be filed under state law against both the manager and the company. And often, state and federal charges of employment discrimination may be filed.|ret||ret||tab|

Not every incident of these inappropriate searches ends up before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or another law enforcement agency. But several charges of employment discrimination have been filed and, in some, violations have been found. In one case arising in the St. Louis District, a violation was found and the company was assessed $102,000 in damages.|ret||ret||tab|

With the publicity generated by the Nation's article, the national coverage on "Good Morning America" on March 31, and subsequent local coverage, we at EEOC hope that the word will spread to all employers. But we worry that employers may dismiss the scam as something that will never affect their company. We encourage companies not to rely entirely upon the good judgment of their managers and take steps to periodically inform the managers in all their locations about the scam, and equip them with the knowledge necessary to respond appropriately. |ret||ret||tab|

Whether managers actually fall for the scam, whether they simply use the call as an excuse to do something they would like to do anyway, or whether these are copycat schemes dreamed up by the manager and some co-conspirator, we do not know. We do know that in the cases filed with EEOC on this subject, where all the affected employees were female, managers have complied with the caller's every demand, some of which were extremely bizarre. Some have even gone beyond the caller's demands and have engaged in sexually explicit behavior.|ret||ret||tab|

No matter what the origin or purpose of these illegitimate strip searches may be, employers should act decisively to bring the scam to the attention of their managers. Beyond that, employers should ensure that all their managers are fully aware of the kinds of behaviors that would constitute sexual harassment by providing training, and holding them fully accountable for their actions.|ret||ret||tab|

It is simply good business to take the scam seriously, and act quickly to inform front-line managers.|ret||ret||tab|

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