Employees that break the law

[chains12]

As a young business owner, leadership has become one of the things I strive to improve upon every day so as to benefit my life and business as well as my employees and their lives.

Last night, an employee I've had for a year was arrested for domestic battery and could not show up for work. As of now he is still in jail and I have not had the opportunity to speak with him or learn what exactly happened. He has a 3 year old daughter who lives with him and his girlfriend

So what should I do? What's the best way to handle a situation like this? For more context and complication, I am a farmer and employ help year round to complete jobs and tasks commonly associated with this line of work. When the employee in question is at work, he's a dependable thinker and one of my hardest workers. He is definitely one I would like to keep considering it is very hard to find knowledgeable machine operators and mechanics in my area. To add more, we just started our fall harvest season which is the busiest and requires the most help to complete. While I like to keep personal and business lives separate, this problem seems to combine those two into one which is what I think makes it so tricky for me. I can't have employees getting locked up and missing work, yet I almost can't afford to lose the help that I depend on him to provide.

Any and all help is very much appreciated.

[mynewunit]

Chains,
  Getting cuffed and stuffed isn't always a deal breaker.  JP got arrested leading up to their deployment. The NFL has a lot of people who have been arrested and still get to play. So the first thing is to determine if the crime is a fire-able offense. If so, guilty means no job. Embezzlement is a good example of a fire-able offense. This particular offense is increasing complicated.

  When things go weird with an employee and you even consider firing them, you need to remove the unknown.  There are 2 options: the path and the trap. The path is the milestones they need to hit toward success. The trap is what costs them their job. The trap is: If you get arrested again, If you miss a court date, then you are done.  The path is keep up the good work on the job, keep up on your legal stuff, get some coaching or counseling on personal life. 

  Me and my boss can keep personal and professional lives separate. I have said that he could fire me and I wouldn't cancel dinner plans with him. You might have that relationship. 

  Another angle. How did this happen? Do you know this girlfriend? Some people steer into conflict, others deescalate.  Does he have some good influences in his life? Help him link up with someone he can look to and talk with about his life.  This may crumble as fast as it starts, but it is worth a shot.

[chains12]

Mynewunit,

Thanks for your reply. After giving it some thought and acquiring more information about the problem, I've given him the opportunity to keep his job so long as he stays on task, on time, and can handle his future legal battle and court dates. I also explained that he will need to keep me in the loop for time he will miss from work because of court but told him I will be as flexible and supportive as possible if it gets his life back together.

So, as of now that's how I'm handling the situation but it's going to be one day at a time until we find out where his legal problems will take him. Again, thanks for your advice.