The Essential Guide to Workplace Investigations

“Packed with tips and strategies that will help sort out workplace problems quickly and legally.” HR Magazine

“Everything an employer needs to know about investigating and resolving workplace complaints and issues is packed into this book, making it a top recommendation for any business library strong in human resources guides. It’s the first on the market to teach businesses how to investigate and resolve all types of complains, from harassment and discrimination to workplace violence and employee theft, and walks the manager through ten basic steps from the initial decision to investigate to interviewing, gathering and evaluating evidence, and taking action. All business libraries need this.” California Bookwatch

“Guerin, an employment law specialist and author, offers a guide to investigating and resolving workplace complaints or problems, focusing on harassment, discrimination, violence, drug and alcohol use, and employee theft. She describes the steps for the investigation of any kind of problem, common investigation mistakes, discovering problems, deciding whether to investigate, choosing an investigator, planning the investigation, gathering information, making and documenting the decision about whether misconduct occurred, and ten steps for investigating each type of problem.” Eithne O’Leyne, Editor, Ringgold, Inc., ProtoView

Author comment: In the past year, the #MeToo movement has rocked workplaces from Hollywood and Congress to news networks, restaurants, manufacturing plants, and more. It has also spurred many important public and private conversations about the cost of sexual harassment on (mostly) women’s careers, earning potential, safety, and self-esteem. Again and again, we’ve heard stories about complaints being downplayed, harassers being allowed to continue abusing employees with impunity, and victims facing retaliation for coming forward.

Allowing harassment to continue unchecked is never the right ethical decision, nor is it wise from a business perspective. Planning and carrying out an investigation can be daunting, but it’s vitally important to your company’s employees, culture, and reputation. This book provides step-by-step guidance that will help you come up with a game plan, gather evidence, question witnesses, and take action if necessary. If you hire an outside investigator, it will help you understand the investigator’s work and findings. With a separate chapter devoted solely to investigating harassment claims, this book will help you with what might be today’s most pressing workplace issue.

The Editors of Nolo include over 20 editors and a team of researchers. Most of Nolo’s editors left careers as practicing lawyers in favor of furthering the company’s mission: Getting legal information into the hands of people who need it.

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