Workplace Investigations
Independent, professional fact-finding for workplace complaints — conducted with discretion, precision, and care for all parties involved.
Request a ConsultationEmployment Practices Group (EPG) provides workplace investigation services to public and private companies, municipalities, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and other employers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York and other states throughout the country.
What is a Workplace Investigation?
A workplace investigation is a fact-finding inquiry into a complaint of sexual harassment or other form of unlawful harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misuse of company property, illegal conduct, employee theft or fraud, or any other type of workplace misconduct that may violate policy, practice, or the law. Often, the law requires that a prompt and thorough investigation take place. Other times, it’s just a matter of good and necessary business practices, consistent with industry standards.
Investigations should be performed by someone who is trained, experienced, and skilled at soliciting the appropriate information, questioning the right individuals, identifying key issues, assessing credibility, making factual determinations, and understanding any legal obligations such as documentation, confidentiality, and retaliation. The investigator must delicately handle the process in a non-threatening but appropriate manner, while simultaneously respecting the rights of all involved.
When conducting workplace investigations, EPG provides these services:
- Ensures that the employer responds appropriately to the complaining party at the inception of the complaint and, also, maintains impartiality and reaches no premature conclusions as to the responding party’s conduct.
- Conducts an investigation that is prompt, thorough, and impartial, consistent with the law and industry standards.
- Makes certain that no material witnesses are overlooked during the investigation process.
- Researches the appropriate background information about the incident, the persons involved and their working relationships, and the business environment.
- Records sufficient and appropriate information during the witness interviews, after eliciting this information from all witnesses in an objective and sensitive manner.
- Gathers and analyzes relevant documentation and other information.
- Prepares contemporaneous documentation as the investigation proceeds, ensuring that all the elements that contribute to a valid written record are included.
- Reaches factual and not legal conclusions as to whether more likely than not any inappropriate behavior occurred.
- Makes determinations as to whether any substantiated misconduct may violate internal policies, and offers recommendations on discipline or other remedial measures, where appropriate.
- Testifies as a witness at trial and at depositions, as necessary, that its retention and work-product were an integral part of the organization’s prompt and effective action to respond to any harassment or other misconduct that may have occurred in the workplace.
Why use a Professional Lawyer Investigator instead of Human Resources?
In rulings released in 1998 and 1999, the United States Supreme Court gave employers a chance to escape legal liability for sexual harassment in certain circumstances if they can show that they took appropriate steps to “correct promptly” any such behavior in the workplace. The same principles hold true in other types of harassment and discrimination cases. Accordingly, in many instances, an employer’s liability will turn on how it handles a complaint. Similarly, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has long held that employers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring, and investigations are a key part of that process.
Oftentimes, a Human Resource professional is the right person to investigate allegations of misconduct. Other times, an internal professional is not the right choice to investigate allegations of misconduct for the following reasons:
- HR may be unable to put the investigation as a high priority work assignment due to other pending projects or scheduling conflicts.
- HR may lack the experience and skill to handle the issue.
- HR may recognize that the risks are too high to handle in-house.
- HR may find itself in the chain of command of either the complaining party or responding party, or otherwise be perceived as having a bias.
- HR may be below the responding party on the organizational chart, thereby creating a conflict and bias problem.
Using an outside impartial attorney investigator can help to ensure that the matter is dealt with quickly, effectively, and in accordance with the law.
In all investigations that are conducted, employers must be mindful of the following:
- The complaining party knows that the employer is taking the allegation seriously.
- The responding party is confident that the investigator is not pre-judging what may have happened and is respecting their rights–as well as those of the alleged victim.
- Confidentiality and integrity are maintained during the investigative process.
- Conclusions are reached that are completely independent and unbiased.
- The employer’s internal policies and procedures, as well as federal and state laws and guidelines, are followed.
- The investigation, from start to finish, will be conducted following industry standards, so as to ensure integrity in the process as well as minimize legal liability.
- You have demonstrated your organization’s attempt to “correct promptly” reported misconduct.
If your organization seeks to proactively address and resolve an employee complaint, please contact Employment Practice Group to learn more about conducting a thorough, discreet workplace investigation.
Contact Information
- Employment Practices Group
- (978) 975-0080
- jmoore@employmentpg.com
Client Testimonials
I am incredibly grateful for Julie and the way she helped me through my harassment and retaliation case. This was one of the hardest and most painful times in my life, and there were many moments when I felt overwhelmed, scared, and unsure of what to do next. Julie helped me feel less alone.
Julie listened to me, guided me, and helped me understand what was happening when things felt confusing and stressful. She was professional and knowledgeable, but also steady and human in a way that mattered. I always felt that she cared about what I was going through, took my situation seriously, and had the expertise needed to help.
One of the things I appreciated most about Julie was her honesty. She didn’t always tell me what I wanted to hear, but she told me what I needed to know. That helped me make informed decisions and stay grounded during a process that could have been consumed by emotion. I trusted her because she was direct, thoughtful, and always focused on what was in my best interest.
Julie’s expertise as an attorney is well known, and I truly believe that made a difference in my case. She is respected, prepared, and strong in the way she advocates for her clients. I truly believe I ended up with a better outcome because Julie was my attorney than I would have with someone else representing me.
I also had a very positive experience with Donna, another attorney in Julie’s office. Donna was compassionate, thoughtful, and really took the time to understand what I had been through. She wrote an incredible first draft of my complaint – strong, clear, and powerful – and I remember feeling seen when I read it. She captured the seriousness of what happened in a way that made me feel like my experience mattered.
During a time when I did not always feel strong enough to advocate for myself, Julie advocated for me. Her guidance, support, and professional advice meant more to me than I can fully put into words. I would highly recommend Julie and her office to anyone who needs attorneys who are compassionate, honest, strong, and truly committed to helping their clients.
Julie is the consummate professional and a delight to work with on complex investigations. She is thorough, prompt and delivers excellent work product in a timely manner, always with a smile. Clients love her and appreciate her hard work.
I had the opportunity to work closely with Julie recently on a complex internal investigation for one of my clients, a large, world-wide health care company. I found Julie to be responsive, diligent, knowledgeable and skilled in interviewing witnesses, requesting relevant documentation, and assimilating the information she learned. She communicated closely with me and in-house corporate counsel during every stage of the investigation so that we were fully apprised of developments as they occurred. She gained the confidence and trust of the witnesses and was able to quickly digest the information, make credibility determinations that were supported by the facts, and determine whether or not policy violations occurred. I gained great respect for Julie’s abilities, common sense approach, and good judgment. I find her to be an extremely seasoned investigator who understands the issues, is devoted to the mission of finding the facts, and understands the business climate and the need for practical solutions and appropriate remedial or corrective action at the end of an investigation.
I am corporate counsel to a large organization in New Hampshire, which consists of multiple locations, led by an Executive Director and overseen by a Board of Trustees. At my direction, the organization retained Julie Moore to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations and provide advice and counsel to the Board following the investigation. This was a particularly sensitive matter, as the Executive Director was a prominent member of the community, and he enjoyed a solid reputation in the industry. The stakes were high. Julie handled the matter with the highest degree of discretion, sensitivity and competence. The investigation spanned 6 months, and Julie generated a 100+ page report of all the factual findings. Julie was able to distill and analyze the claims that were raised and recommend changes in the scope of the investigation as new facts became known. I was particularly impressed with this insight, as we trusted Julie to guide through the myriad of serious allegations that threatened the livelihood of the organization.
Julie [Moore] investigated a particularly complicated personnel (ADD) issue for us several months ago. Numerous staff members were interviewed, and a lengthy prior investigation was also involved. Julie conducted her investigation with great thoroughness while using great discretion to protect the privacy of those involved. We were impressed with her perceptiveness of the issues and personalities, her diligence and commitment to the investigation, her attention to detail, and her incisive report distilling a wealth of detail into clear findings and rational conclusions.
Julie Moore is uniquely qualified and situated to assist companies with their internal investigation needs. Ms. Moore demonstrates a strong working knowledge of the employment law area, which I believe is of significant benefit as it allows her to identify important facts and issues from both a legal and operational perspective. Her experience as a litigator enables her to understand the importance of a thorough and properly documented investigation. My experience with Julie Moore tells me that she is diligent, persevering, responsive and articulate. She seems unafraid to reach factual conclusions in investigations, and I have felt comfortable with her conclusions that I have read, as they were based upon findings of fact, as opposed to speculation or instinct.
I have found Attorney Moore to be highly capable. She conducted thorough investigations for the Town of Natick and City of Springfield in an independent, thoughtful manner. She is tough but empathetic, a valuable combination when conducting her work. Attorney Moore’s investigative findings have been clear, detailed and concise. Public sector organizations are highly regulated and subject to significant scrutiny. Attorney Moore’s investigations maintained complete confidentiality and provided executive leadership with the information required to make appropriate decisions in both Natick and Springfield.
Site Navigation
Contact Details
- Employment Practices Group
- Located in the Greater Boston Area
- (978) 975-0080
- jmoore@employmentpg.com
- www.employmentpg.com
Connect With Us
