Workplace investigations following allegations of misconduct can easily go off the rails if employers don't know how to do them well. Experts discussed best practices for workplace investigations at the recent American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Conference.

The quality of internal investigations has important ramifications for litigation outcomes. For example, an employer can be held liable for sexual harassment by a supervisor unless it can prove that it exercised care to prevent harassment and took steps to investigate any complaints, according to Matthew Clash-Drexler, an attorney with Bredhoff & Kaiser in Washington, D.C. Usually, employers show their preventative efforts by distributing their anti-harassment policy to all employees.

"What's critical is the importance of conducting effective, impartial and, most importantly, defensible investigations," said Barbara Johnson, an attorney with BLJohnson Law in Washington, D.C. When done right, an internal investigation "can be one of the best defenses in litigation" and can reduce settlement costs.

At the beginning of a witness interview, emphasize that the company does not permit retaliation and that you do not legally represent the witness. Avoid "investigation creep" by clearly understanding the scope of the matter, Johnson recommended.

"It is not an interrogation. It is not the place where you go in with a script of pre-written questions. Ask general, open-ended questions. Try to develop a rapport...

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