It starts without warning.
An employee comes to you with a serious workplace complaint. Maybe it’s about a manager. Maybe it’s about one of your best long-term employees. Your first reaction may be:
“Why would I want to bring someone in to investigate my own company? Won’t that just make things worse?”
In many cases, the opposite is true.
A well-conducted workplace investigation by an independent outside investigator – who also happens to be an employment attorney – can help an employer find and understand the facts, make better decisions, protect its employees, and potentially prevent a workplace issue from becoming a much larger and more expensive, disruptive problem.
Get to the bottom of what really happened
Workplace complaints are rarely simple. When a complaint lands on your desk, you have decisions to make, and you have to make them fairly. Often, you’re working with very few facts.
An employee may report harassment, discrimination, retaliation, theft, inappropriate behavior, a safety issue, or another form of workplace misconduct. The person accused may have an entirely different version of the events. Other employees may have seen or heard only part of what happened.
The employer’s job is not to immediately decide who is right. The first step is to gather the facts.
A proper investigation includes interviewing the employee who raised the concern; reviewing relevant emails, text messages, documents, social media posts, or other evidence; speaking with any witnesses; and finally, interviewing the person accused.
This process allows the company to make decisions based on credible information rather than rumors, assumptions, office politics, or incomplete stories.
Why an outside investigator can make all the difference
In some situations, it may be appropriate to use an in-house investigator, but only when that investigator knows how to conduct a proper workplace investigation and can be completely unbiased.
An outside investigator’s objectivity is particularly valuable when the complaint involves a senior executive, business owner, someone in HR, or in a situation where emotions are already running high. An independent investigator also can help define what needs to be examined, determine who should be interviewed, gather relevant information and provide clear findings.
If you discipline an employee or terminate their employment, and that decision is challenged, you may rely on what courts call the “honest belief” rule. But a judge or jury won’t simply ask what you believed. They will ask how you arrived at that belief. A belief backed by a fair process and credible facts holds up. One built on rumors or assumptions does not.
Just as importantly, both the complaining employee and the person accused must have a fair opportunity to be heard. That fairness matters to employees — and it matters to the employer.
An investigation also can save you money
Business owners sometimes worry that bringing in an investigator will add expense to an already difficult situation.
But consider the alternative.
A complaint that is ignored, delayed, or handled poorly can lead to lost productivity, damaged morale, employee turnover, legal claims, government investigations and litigation. A prompt, thorough investigation may help identify and address the underlying problem before it grows into an expensive, disruptive headache.
Investigations also create a documented process that shows how the employer reached its decisions. This can be especially important if an employment decision is challenged.
Sometimes the best answer is simply the truth
So why would you want someone to investigate your company? Because you want the truth. You want to protect your business. And you want to do right by your people. These goals don’t compete with one other.
An investigation does not automatically mean the employee making the complaint is right. Nor does it mean the person accused did something wrong. It means the company is taking the issue seriously enough to find out what happened.
And once you know the facts, you are in a much stronger position to decide what should happen next.
Sometimes bringing in an impartial set of eyes is exactly what a business needs to resolve the issue fairly, protect the people involved, and get everyone back to work.
If your company is facing a workplace complaint and you are unsure about your next step, Rubin Employment Law can help. Call 973-787-8442 or contact us at legaladmin@alixrubinlaw.com to discuss whether an internal workplace investigation may be appropriate. To learn more, visit our Internal Workplace Investigations page.
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