A supervisor just knocked on your door to tell you Bill is offended by the off-color internet comics his coworkers keep leaving on his desk when he's away. Amanda, the employee who helped you develop a computer program your company uses every day just quit, and is threatening to use that program to attract your customers. You open a letter from Samantha, who quit because her manager Scott would not stop asking her to come over to his apartment for drinks after work.
The investigations that follow from these incidents raise a host of thorny legal issues. Who should perform the investigation? A lawyer? A private investigator? The HR Department? Who should that person interview? Can you promise the employees you interview that you'll keep their identities a secret? Are your investigator's notes privileged information? Is it okay to tell a white lie to an employee to get him to admit he's been behaving inappropriately? How do you decide who is telling the truth? What kind of discipline should you impose? Can investigated employees sue for defamation? Should you review your employees' email? Can you record their phone calls? How do you determine whether departing employees have taken with them the keys to the kingdom?
What can you do to lower your litigation exposure? What can you do to protect your rights?
Our attorneys will address these topics, and discuss how to effectively and efficiently run a workplace investigation in a way that protects your company's reputation, trade secrets, and legal rights.
CLE INFORMATION: Dorsey & Whitney LLP has been certified by the California State CLE Board as an Accredited Provider of CLE in the State of California. The program will be accredited for 1.5 CA CLE credits. We may apply in other states based on attendance. We will also apply for HR Recertification Credit through the HR Certification Institute.
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