Labor & Employment Law

1. Don?t rely on your memory. You took notes and obtained statements for a reason. Review ALL all of your notes and witness statements before you start writing your report.

2. Avoid minutia. The report need not include each bit of information that came to light in your investigation, but should contain key facts relevant to the investigation.

3. Stick to the facts. A factual report will reveal that you conducted a thorough and fair investigation.

4. Start with a summary. Begin your report with a summary of the allegations made, how and when they came to the company?s attention, and the steps taken in the investigative process.

5. Describe the process. When describing the investigative process, make sure that you reference advising each employee, both at the beginning and at the conclusion of the interview, of applicable policies, including policies against retaliation, and confidentiality.

6. Summarize the key facts from your interviews. After you have provided your overview, provide a summary of each interview. Any statements should be incorporated into the report as exhibits.

7. If necessary, address credibility. In the event any witnesses were uncooperative, that should be noted in your report, as well as issues of credibility, if it relates to a lack of candor or evasiveness. If these types of credibility determinations are being made, make sure that you describe what it was about the individual that led you to conclude the person lacked candor or was being evasive.

8. Clearly state your conclusions. Once the investigation and your findings have been summarized, conclude your report.

9. Support your conclusions with the facts. Clearly state your conclusion and the factual basis for your conclusion and your recommendations.

10. Circulate your report to decision-makers. Once the report is made and is circulated to the appropriate decision-maker and consider having counsel review your report.

11. Disclose the results. The results of the investigation should be disclosed to the reporting party and accused. Although in many instances these types of findings are disclosed orally, my preference is to provide a written disclosure. The written disclosure need not provide an exhaustive analysis of the case. It should, however, provide a brief overview of the investigative process and the findings. If your conclusions support the allegations made by the reporting party, the report should confirm that appropriate remedial action is being taken to remedy the complaint and alert the reporting party to report any instances of retaliation that are related to the complaint or the investigation. If, as a result of your investigation, you are unable to conclude that the allegations occurred, your report should briefly explain why no action is taken, reassure the reporting party that all complaints are treated seriously and that any further complaints will be investigated. Finally, you should also remind the reporting party that retaliation will not be tolerated and make a note of this discussion for your files.

12. Follow up and follow through. After the results of the investigation have been disclosed, follow up with the accused and reporting party to assure they are not experiencing problems with co-workers, supervisors and managers. Remind them that your organization will not tolerate retaliation.

Nothing in this blog should be considered legal advice or to form an attorney client relationship. The information provided is general in nature. Nothing can substitute for a consultation with a legal professional who can address your particular legal problem.