As a kid, I was fascinated by tales about pirates. I played pirates (either a pirate or the captain of the ship under attack) just like I played cowboys. I had appropriate outfits. I even adopted Pittsburgh as my professional baseball team for a short while, because they were the Pirates. I thought then, and have thought for most of my life, that real pirates were extinct. As it turns out and as widely reported, I was wrong.

At this moment, 16-18 ships are being held by pirates for ransom. In the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia, pirates have attacked 80 ships so far this year. Although the pirates are after money only and don’t mistreat their captives/hostages, the average length of captivity at sea is 53 days — enough time for post-traumatic stress disorder to set in.

I’m not a maritime lawyer, and I don’t know the political intricacies of combating modern-day piracy. It’s quite clear that the pirates have had their way for way too long, however. American and French navies are now engaging the pirates, but in the meantime, pirates have collected millions of dollars in ransom.

I have said consistently that the fair treatment of employees will go a long way toward peaceful relationships in the workplace. In my opinion, being fair is more important than any other workplace practice. But some employees are pirates — bullies, harassers, thieves, incompetents, delinquents, wrongdoers, and the like. Being fair encompasses doing the right thing with them the way you do the right thing with your good employees. You take adverse action. You discipline. You fire.

If you don’t, you have what we’re seeing on the high seas these days: anarachy. Given the struggle that all employers have in today’s economy, that’s the last thing we need.