Eight Steps to Avoid Getting Sued Over Your Investigation

Thorough investigations can protect employers from claims that their decisions were discriminatory, retaliatory, or in bad faith. Conversely, a defective investigation can increase an employers’ exposure to those same claims. Consider, for example, Viana v. FedEx Corporate Services, an unpublished Ninth Circuit opinion issued on March 22, 2018. The appellate panel in that case overturned summary judgment for the employer because (among other things) there were issues regarding the adequacy of the investigation. The court noted, for example, that there was evidence that the supervisor conducting the investigation referred to the plaintiff using derogatory and sexist terms and failed to get the plaintiff’s side of the story before deciding to terminate.