Best Practices for Workplace Investigations Recommended by Lawyers for Employers

Every company must eventually conduct investigations after receiving complaints of improper employee behaviors and policy violations. When this happens, it’s best to follow certain workplace investigation practices, as recommended by skilled lawyers for employers.

Getting together a strong investigation team can help the process move along more efficiently. Consider consulting with an employment attorney for your next workplace investigation. A seasoned lawyer can be particularly advantageous to the outcome of your investigation.

Conducting Proper Workplace Investigations

Human Resources departments are often tasked with investigating whether employees have acted wrongfully or violated policies. Regardless of the seriousness of the issue, proper, thorough investigations are imperative to gather pertinent information and take appropriate action.

Being mindful of practices for workplace investigations also helps ensure your company remains compliant with internal policies and employment laws.

Consider the following best practices when conducting investigations within your company.

Take Into Account the Severity of the Issue

Some situations require more prompt attention than others. Therefore, consider the details of the issue presented and determine whether it calls for any immediate action. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to send home a problematic employee or rearrange schedules to guard against further disruption while you investigate.

However, it’s critical to consider these decisions before taking action, as carrying them out may seem retaliatory. When in doubt, it’s best to get qualified advice by consulting with an employer lawyer.

Ensure Confidentiality

Privacy is key during investigations. You can keep the investigation confidential in two primary ways.

First, you can require involved parties to keep the investigation details confidential. During meetings and interviews, you can instruct employees and other parties to keep the issue quiet while the investigation is underway.

Second, if you hire an employment law firm to assist with the investigation, you can use the attorney-client privilege to your advantage. With this privilege, the investigation details are kept tightly under wraps, as any communication between attorneys and third parties about their work with the client is strictly prohibited.

Create an Investigation Plan

Creating a detailed plan can help ensure you get everything you need out of the investigation promptly and efficiently.

First and foremost, determine your goals. What issues are being addressed, how are you planning on conducting your investigation, and what is the desired result of the process? Having a clear objective can help give your investigation some much-needed structure and prevent you and your team from getting off track.

Also, a plan should be generated that follows employment policies. Many companies have employee handbooks that discuss workplace investigations, including how they should take place.

You can also run these policies past your lawyer for employers to ensure that following them is still in the company’s best interests.

Conduct Interviews and Collect Documentation

Interviews and evidence are critical to the outcome of your investigation. When creating your plan, determine what parties you need to interview to obtain further details concerning the problem at hand. Also, consider what evidence would aid in making your final determinations.

When conducting interviews, be strategic. Prepare for interviews and develop a list of questions whose answers would help with your investigation. Well-crafted questions can get you closer to uncovering the truth and making important decisions to remedy the issue.

In addition to interviewing essential parties, gather evidence relevant to the situation. This can include communications, documents, and surveillance footage based on the circumstances. You can also ask interviewees about certain pieces of evidence to get more context and information during interviews.

Keep a Small Investigation Team

Regardless of how complicated the issue may be, keeping your investigation team tight-knit for efficiency is best.

Part of preparing for your investigation includes determining who will run it. Whether it be a member of HR, a security professional, an attorney, or any combination, it’s particularly helpful to assign roles in the investigation early on to promptly investigate and find a resolution.

Be Mindful of Time

Conducting a timely investigation is always recommended. Once the matter is presented to the company, it’s best to start moving as soon as possible. Not only does this communicate professionalism, but it also allows you to make decisions and remedy the issue much more quickly.

There is no specific timeline for conducting a “timely” investigation, as it highly depends on the specifics of the situation. Some investigations take mere hours, while others take several weeks. However, if possible, investigations should be wrapped up within 30 days.

It is worth noting, though, that complications do arise, adding to the timeline of an investigation. In such an event, consult with a lawyer so employers can tackle any obstacles immediately.

Do Not Retaliate

It is against the law to retaliate against the accuser or the accused in a workplace situation. For this reason, it’s imperative to consider your actions before taking them to ensure they are not misconstrued as retaliation.

Companies should maintain no retaliation policies in their employee handbooks to minimize instances of retaliation. Retaliating can mean trouble for the company and expose it to liability.

Maintain a Professional Demeanor Throughout the Investigation Process

Many workplace investigations can be trying and frustrating, but it’s crucial to maintain a calm, kind, professional demeanor at all times. All participants in the investigation should feel seen, heard, and treated with equal respect.

When to Involve a Lawyer for Employers

Following these best practices for workplace investigations can greatly assist with running a smooth, systematic investigation. Still, some investigations are especially challenging for HR professionals and companies to handle alone. Hiring an employment law firm can significantly benefit the success of your investigation.

Lawyers for employers are available to assist with conducting all kinds of workplace investigations. An attorney ensures a legally compliant interview process, safeguarding the company from potential problems and helping secure a better result.

For expert assistance with workplace investigations, contact Pearlman, Brown, and Wax, LLP today. Our employment law attorneys can help ensure a legally compliant process and secure better outcomes for your company.