Contact Our Team of Workplace Investigation Attorneys to Schedule a Free Consultation

Call (312) 345-6603 or submit an online contact form today to ask about scheduling your workplace investigation.

A Proper Investigation Is Beneficial

Many employers wonder when to conduct an audit or investigation, and how exactly to proceed. The experts at The Prinz Law Firm have experience helping businesses make such determinations and leveraging best practices that we tailor to each employer’s particular needs and concerns.

Promoting a Healthy Workplace

Swiftly responding to complaints of misconduct or impropriety with a workplace investigation tailored to your business’ unique circumstances helps to promote a healthy workplace culture and communicates that you value your employees. In addition to rectifying an employee complaint, the positive byproducts of investigating employee misconduct include:

• Fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.
• Employees seeing that you take their concerns seriously.
• Employees feeling safe, secure, and respected at work.
• Employees observing the company following its own policies and procedures, as well as the law.

Avoiding Legal Liability

Conducting a thorough workplace investigation in a timely manner after becoming aware of potential misconduct can save your business time, money, and a poor reputation. If an issue progresses, especially to litigation, the negative effects of not investigating early and properly will become clear. Some adverse effects include:

• Legal liability: failing to properly investigate or to take appropriate remedial action can leave your company open to legal liability and prevent it from valuable legal defenses in litigation.
• Costly legal fees for counsel, expert witnesses, and litigation-related court and arbitration costs.
• Settlement costs to resolve litigation related to workplace harassment.
• Increased insurance premiums following payments on covered claims.
• Additional litigation: current or former employees may file copycat claims now that someone has paved the way.

Minimizing the Threat of Bad Actors

Workplace bad actors can create a host of headaches for any business owner or management team. A thorough workplace investigation into complaints of misconduct or impropriety can help reduce the personnel and business costs that bad actors pose, such as:

• Distracted and distressed employees: victims and witnesses of a bad actor’s behavior are often distracted from work responsibilities, have higher absentee rates, and suffer from psychological harm.
• Lost employee time: workers may avoid work or work duties as a result of a bad actor. If an issue progresses to litigation, employees may be subjected to interviews, depositions, and hearings as witnesses.
• Lost management time: managers will have to spend valuable time investigating and responding to complaints of bad behavior, rather than on the functions of the business.
• Growing negativity: negative behavior tends to beget more negative behavior. If harassment, discrimination, and retaliation are left unchecked, they tend to spread within an organization.
• Reduced productivity and creativity: companies that allow bad actors to thrive experience reduced creativity and innovation, dysfunctional teams, and diminished ability to attract and retain talent.
• Reputational losses: if your business becomes known as a safe haven for misconduct, current employees will leave, potential recruits will not join your organization, and you might even attract bad press.

What Makes Prinz Different 

Our employment attorneys regularly advocate and litigate on behalf of both employees and employers. Most investigators cannot say the same. As a result of our diversified client base, we enjoy a 360-degree perspective on employment law, a perspective that guides our investigation strategy from the start.  

Our firm has investigated everything from one-on-one interpersonal issues in the workplace to complex matters involving significant electronically stored information (ESI). Our process is broad and yet thorough: we are skilled at eliciting information from live interviews yet employ a systematic process for retrieving and reviewing both physical documentation and digital data. And transparency and discretion guide our investigatory work at every turn.  

Our firm has been engaged in workplace investigations for a variety of business clients, which has entailed investigation planning, witness interviewing, credibility assessments, and internal investigation result reporting. One of our attorneys, Laura Feldman, served as a trial attorney for approximately 9 years at the federal agency concerning fairness in employment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). While with the EEOC, Laura handled numerous aspects of investigative work, including participating in investigations, developing protocols for investigations, advising investigators, and analyzing investigative files.  

In addition to conducting investigations, our attorneys have led various CLEs for in-house and general counsel, human resources specialists, and other professionals on how to best conduct a workplace investigation. Past presentations have covered basic investigation techniques to more advanced topics in the field. Notably, two of our attorneys presented at the Association of Workplace Investigators, receiving rave reviews and feedback on their unique argument. Our firm is equipped to tackle a diversity of workplace investigations, and to do so with tact, thoroughness, and discretion.

Investigation Consulting

Oftentimes, it is best to welcome independent, external counselors to perform your workplace investigations. Doing so reduces the potential for bias and ensures best practices are being followed. This may not be practical for all organizations, however. If you prefer to conduct an internal investigation utilizing your own personnel, or if the issue does not warrant external assistance, we can consult with your business regarding how to proceed, including:

• Reviewing best practices for conducting investigations.
• Designing an investigation plan, including identification of interviewers and witnesses.
• Discussion of investigation results, including implementation of disciplinary processes.
• When and how to communicate the results of the investigation, and to whom.

Contact Our Team of Workplace Investigation Attorneys to Schedule a Free Consultation

Call (312) 345-6603 or submit an online contact form today to ask about scheduling your workplace investigation.

Workplace Investigation Training Webinar

If you are interested in honing your investigative skills and would like to do so from the comfort of your office or home, consider Prinz’s Workplace Investigation Training Webinar. This easy-to-access webinar will walk you through all the basics of conducting an investigation in the workplace, setting you and your workplace up for success. Click below to learn more.