A recent decision from the Massachusetts Superior Court provides a critical reminder to employers about the importance of workplace investigations done well.
Sound workplace investigations provide credible factual conclusions upon which decisionmakers can rely reasonably and in good faith. On the other hand, a flawed investigation can undermine even an employer with the best of intentions.
The Massachusetts decision came in a lawsuit brought in 2021 by a former employee of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge. The plaintiff, Dr. David Sabatini, resigned after he was accused of sexual harassment and other misconduct based on an extensive investigation. In his 89-page Complaint, Dr. Sabatini alleged that his accuser, the employer, and the employer’s director defamed him during and after the investigation. He also alleged that he was discriminated against because of his sex due to the “sham” investigation.
Last month, the court dismissed some of Dr. Sabatini’s claims but allowed his claims of defamation against his accuser to proceed. In what was perhaps the most noteworthy part of the decision, the court granted summary judgment to the employer and director on the discriminatory investigation claim even though Dr. Sabatini provided an expert report from a seasoned workplace investigator who said that the investigation was so flawed that it was fundamentally unfair to Dr. Sabatini.
Background
Dr. Sabatini was a renowned cancer researcher at the...
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