“French Cardinal Convicted for Covering Up Child Sex Abuse,” The Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2019. Conviction for failure to report a crime.
Criminal law has some provisions about failing to report certain types of crimes. At common law (which means civil liability for damages, in the absence of a statute or contract), an employee has a duty to his or her employer (a) to comply with applicable law and (b) report material violations to his or her employer.
So, as a matter of Compliance, the Cardinal had both a statutory obligation and an employment obligation to report information about child abuse. From a Governance perspective, did his employer have controls in place? Did he report it to his employer?
Do your company’s policies have a duty to report material violations? Do you have that duty anyway?
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