[...]... risk a discrimination claim For example, if you decide not to investigate a complaint against a white man for sexual harassment but you do investigate a harassment complaint against an African-American man, you might be accused of race discrimination Similarly, if you don’t investigate a claim of discrimination brought by a Muslim employee, that employee might argue that your decision was based on hostility... important tools an employer has for maintaining a safe and productive workplace and staying out of legal trouble Handled properly, an investigation can help you manage misconduct, assure workers that their complaints, concerns, and safety are taken seriously, underline the importance of following workplace rules, and even provide a valuable defense to an employee lawsuit Workplace Investigations: An Overview... investigate If you are investigating a situation that is volatile or could otherwise cause immediate harm to your business, you might have to act right away For example, if an employee is accused of sexually assaulting a coworker, stealing trade secrets, or bringing a weapon to work, you’ll probably want to act first and ask questions later 1/8 WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS For more detailed information on taking... discrimination An employee who feels that he or she was treated differently because of a protected characteristic—an inherent quality, such as race or gender, that cannot legally form the basis for an employment decision—might bring a lawsuit claiming that you discriminated What Are Protected Characteristics? Federal laws prohibits employers from making workplace decisions based on an employee’s or applicant’s... complains about doesn’t violate the law For example, an employee files a lawsuit, claiming that she was fired for complaining about sexual harassment by a coworker The court decides that, although the woman was told an off-color joke, the incident wasn’t severe enough to constitute illegal harassment, so her harassment claim is thrown out (For more on the legal standards for harassment claims, see Chapter... initial research before deciding that an investigation isn’t warranted And make sure you know all the facts before you take disciplinary action against an employee 2 Delay Even if you eventually decide to investigate and do a good job, you can get into legal trouble if you wait too long to get started If an employee suffers harm— from harassment or workplace violence, for example—after you learned about... religion EXAMPLE: Kwik & Klean, a janitorial company, investigates an incident of sexual harassment The company concludes that Tom, a white employee on one of the night crews, has been telling x-rated jokes and stories, which have made some of his female coworkers uncomfortable Tom is given a written warning and counseling, and his manager receives training about sexual harassment Several months later, a worker... in Ralph’s favor However, an appeals court decided that it didn’t matter what really happened—as long as the company conducted a fair and thorough investigation and reached a good-faith conclusion based on the information available to it at the time, it could not be sued for firing Ralph based on the investigation’s results Workplace Investigations: An Overview 1/5 This book gives you the tools and... prohibit additional kids of discrimination (based on sexual orientation or marital status, for example) and some apply to smaller employers For more on discrimination laws and protected characteristics, see Chapter 5, Section A You’ll find information on your state’s antidiscrimination laws in Appendix C 1/18 WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS If you aren’t even-handed in your investigations, you could risk a discrimination... What a Good Investigation Can Do for You Very few employers are pleased to learn that they have a workplace problem serious enough to require an investigation However, you can turn this negative into a positive by investigating in a way that strengthens and protects your company Among its many benefits, a proper investigation will help you: Figure out what happened The immediate aim of any investigation . Investigating Harassment A. What Is Harassment? 6/3 1. Harassment: The Basics 6/4 2. Sexual Harassment 6/7 3. Legal Liability for Harassment 6/10 B. Ten Steps to a Successful Harassment Investigation. most important tools an employer has for maintaining a safe and productive workplace and staying out of legal trouble. Handled properly, an investigation can help you manage misconduct, assure workers. discriminated against. ” “Mark has been really angry lately—he keeps talking about his gun collection, and yesterday he told me that ‘management is about to get what’s coming to them.’ I’m afraid