Workplace Investigations

What is a workplace investigation? A workplace investigation is where a private company or public employer, such as a city or county, hires an investigator, usually an attorney who is experienced in investigations and employment law, to gather documents and interview people to determine if wrongdoing has occurred or company policy has been violated. The investigation is needed to determine what occurred in a particular situation when facts are known or unknown, or allegations have been made about an event and the complete truth of what occurred is unclear. It is the job of the investigator to gather facts through the review of documents, review of video or other evidence, if available, and to interview people who may have knowledge and information helpful in discovering the truth. What are some examples of workplace investigations? Examples of some of the issues that many times require employment investigations include, but are not limited to, employee theft, allegations of sexual harassment or bullying, assault in the workplace, misuse of company property or funds, sharing of confidential company information, inappropriate use of the company internet and accessing inappropriate internet sites, falsely claiming to work full time, acceptance of gifts or other ethics standards set by the employer and other general claims of employee misconduct. For public employers,…