The National Football League has faced a complicated year as anorganization. Rocked with serious allegations of domestic violenceand child abuse in 2014 and other criminal conduct in recent years,the NFL brand and image have taken tremendous hits. The crime ratein the NFL has become such a public concern that the San DiegoUnion-Tribune created an NFL ArrestsDatabase.

On Dec. 10, at a league meeting in Dallas, the NFL addressed thepublic’s concerns by unanimously endorsing a revised andstrengthened Personal Conduct Policy for all NFL employees, union andnonunion. In an e-mail to all fans on the NFL’s e-mail list, NFLCommissioner Roger Goodell explained that the policy is “clear,consistent, accountable and transparent, and applies to everyoneincluding owners, general managers, coaches, players, other teamemployees, game officials, and all league employees.” More thanjust a sports organization, the NFL also is in the entertainmentbusiness, and it can’t afford the public perception that allfootball players are thugs, especially in the offseason.

A model for other employers

“The revised policy is a way to ensure that the NFL’s image asfamily, diversity and female friendly is preserved,” says RichardF. Vitarelli, a partner representing management only in McCarter& English’s labor and employment law practice group. “It’sissued under the league’s management right to promulgate reasonablework rules.” The Personal Conduct Policy also gives the NFL theright to conduct its own investigation into certain categories ofoff duty conduct and includes whistleblower coverage.

The policy was well drafted and could be a model for anysimilarly situated employer that is concerned about its publicimage, Vitarelli says. It articulates the reasons why the policy isnecessary and identifies the conduct to be prohibited in line withthose reasons. It takes a positive, proactive approach and is notall punitive, he explains.

The Personal Conduct Policy includes progressive discipline aswell as education, counseling and additional resources asappropriate, recognizing the lingering effect on some players andemployees of their past personal experience with domestic violenceor abuse. The policy also affords players who are beinginvestigated the right to have a representative from the NFLPlayers Association present, as provided by the collectivebargaining agreement. Players may appeal any disciplinary decisionas outlined in the agreement or in applicable league procedures fornon-players.

The policy and its procedures are a “liability limitingexercise,” in addition to addressing a serious problem, and thatshould have a positive effect on the employment practices liability(EPL) insurance carrier’s assessment of risk for the league and thevarious teams. The NFL drew a clear roadmap of steps that it willfollow when complaints are made or when the league becomes aware ofpossible criminal conduct that would violate the policy.

Lessons for therest of us

All employers should think about how vulnerable they are tooff-duty conduct. “What kind of off-duty conduct affects theoperation or image of my business or organization? How would theoccurrence of some categories of off-duty employees' conduct haveon the business, and how would my customers, community stakeholdersand employees expect my business to act?,” Vitarelli advisesemployers to ask themselves.

It’s not just entertainment companies like Sesame Workshop, thenonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, whichsuffered when the actor playing Elmo was accused of sexual childabuse. Think about public school districts like Stamford, Conn.,where a high school English teacher was arrested for having anaffair with one of her underage students, and the principal andassistant principal were arrested on charges of failing to reportthe abuse to the state Department of Children and Families. Theissue is even more significant for pricey private schools that relyon their sterling reputations to attract students.

It’s also important to sensitize supervisors to the issue and toreinforce the point that the cover-up is always worse than thecrime. It hurts the victims and the image of the organization. Youshould include your EPL coverage in your annual insurance review,and be sure the broker or agent understands the nature of yourbusiness and helps you understand the possible exposures you face.If appropriate, include your employment counsel in theconversation. Careful planning could keep your company out of theheadlines for bad off-duty conduct by employees.