Under California law, when allegations arise about possible workplace harassment or discrimination, California employers have obligations to take steps in good faith to determine the facts of a situation. This is the purpose of a workplace investigation – it is a process where the investigator seeks to find out what happened.
A workplace investigation is needed when an allegation of workplace misconduct arises and the employer needs to determine what happened in order to follow through on its legal obligations. Common employee allegations that could give rise to an obligation to investigate are:
Under California law, three types of people are permitted to conduct workplace investigations – a qualified employee of the company, a qualified licensed attorney, or a qualified licensed private investigator. The benefits of hiring someone outside the company are preserving neutrality, cutting down on possible conflicts of interest or bias which can interfere with the process, and making sure that the person doing the investigation knows the applicable legal standards that apply. Emerzian Shankar Legal Inc. routinely conducts workplace and school investigations – we can help.
