Hire a firm, run the probe, win the case – then the file stops being yours
Run a harassment investigation through a law firm, then lean on it in court, and you may have to hand the whole file over.
A New Jersey appeals court has spelled out when employers forfeit the right to keep an outside workplace investigation secret. The decision came down on June 1, 2026, and lands on a problem HR teams face constantly.
The facts are straightforward. A truck driver identified only as C.S. worked for Brick Recycling Company. In June 2023, he told the company's owner and president, Peter DeCenzo Jr., that a co-worker was stalking him and had made unwanted sexual advances. According to the decision, he also said the co-worker had reached his bank records without permission and passed that information to someone else.
The company acted quickly. DeCenzo ordered the two employees to stay apart, then brought in the law firm Ruderman & Roth to investigate. A firm lawyer, Ellen Horn, ran the review and produced a 45-page report. It concluded that it was more likely than not that the co-worker had violated the company's anti-harassment policy. In short, the firm substantiated the complaint.
C.S. resigned before the investigation wrapped up. He then sued under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, alleging sexual harassment and constructive discharge - being forced out by intolerable conditions. The company responded with 49 affirmative defenses, among them a claim that it had acted in...
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