Dive Brief:
- Prosecutors have dropped felony charges against three University of North Carolina-Greensboro employees who were fired and accused of falsifying time sheets for working for their freelance photography business on university time.
- Two of the three have to pay restitution to the university — the equivalent of one week’s salary for each — and perform 40 hours of community service, and the charges will be dismissed in six months, the News & Record reported.
- Prosecutors said they routinely encounter similar charges brought by other employers, and they handle them similarly.
Dive Insight:
The three were fired and charged on Sept. 24. Prosecutors had evidence of the freelance use of university computers, including thousands of photos on the computers shot with university cameras, but because there is no criminal statute covering that activity, the three were charged on the time sheets issue. The university’s chancellor, Linda Brady, issued a statement saying the school was legally obligated to report the fired employees’ activities to the district attorney’s office.