The following was first published in Berchem Moses PC's Connecticut Labor & Employment Law Journal. It is reposted here with permission.
When an employee complains about alleged wrongdoing at work, the human resources department (or anyone tasked with the function) is called upon to investigate and resolve the matter.
Sometimes there are video recordings of the misconduct; sometimes the matter boils down to the dreaded he-said/she-said.
This article outlines a few decisions employers must make when handling internal complaints.
In most cases, allegations of misconduct should be investigated unless the allegations are particularly trivial or unless the matter can be resolved informally, such as a simple conversation between the employees.
Sometimes, employers decide not to investigate allegations because they were made against a high-ranking official and that high-ranking official knows the truth.
This mistake should be avoided.
In such cases, the failure to investigate may demonstrate a belief that the high-ranking official is “above the law” and the opportunity to resolve the matter internally may be squandered.
Investigations should be conducted by an impartial employee with training in performing workplace investigations.
Typically, this will be someone in the human resources department.
If the allegations are particularly egregious, the allegations involve high-ranking officials, the scope of the...
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