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HR party of one is brought to you by

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Bernie portal it's Friday at 4:45 p.m.

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you're sitting at your desk responding

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to a few final emails mentally your

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weekend has already started mid yawn and

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employee swings open your door and asks

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can I talk to you about something she

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tells you that an employee on your team

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has been harassing her in the hallways

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as much as you may want to hit pause and

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deal with this on Monday fortunately a

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harassment investigation cannot be

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postponed for later so what do you do

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how do you handle this sensitive

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situation promptly and professionally in

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this video we'll walk through the ins

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and outs of conducting an HR

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investigation including why and when to

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investigate how to conduct an HR

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investigation and when is it time to

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hand the issue over to the authorities

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let's get started according to HR dive

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investigations are for issues of

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misconduct that might make their way to

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the court employers are legally

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obligated to investigate complaints

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related to harassment discrimination

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retaliation safety and ethics under

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various laws such as title seven of the

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Civil Rights Act of 1964 the Americans

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with Disabilities Act the age

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discrimination and Employment Act the

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occupational safety and health act the

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sarbanes Oxley act and any state and

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local non-discrimination laws different

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rules apply to different types of

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complaints but let's focus on the

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harassment complaint for now the EEOC

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States the first element that triggers

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an employer's duty to take reasonable

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corrective action in response to

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harassment is having notice of the

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harassment an employer has notice of

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harassment if someone responsible for

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reporting or taking corrective action is

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aware of it or should have reasonably

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known about it once aware of any illegal

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Behavior the employer is legally

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obligated to take immediate action to

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stop and address it you don't need a

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formal complaint to take action or

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conduct an HR investigation HR should be

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vigilant and observant of the workplace

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for anything warranting an investigation

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if complaints do come your way here are

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the steps you can take to conduct an HR

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investigation step one Ensure Ure

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confidentiality ensure confidentiality

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throughout the investigation process but

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don't overpromise since you may need to

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interview and gather Witnesses some

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information will inevitably be revealed

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ensure the victim knows information will

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only be shared on a need to know basis

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there won't be a companywide email about

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the investigation step two take

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immediate measures address the situation

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or protect the alleged victim

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immediately

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in harassment cases this could mean

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changing schedules or transferring the

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alleged victim away from the accused

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work with the alleged victim to find the

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best immediate solution as soon as an

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issue is brought to your attention you

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can ask the individual hey thank you so

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much for bringing this to my attention I

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will do an investigation in the meantime

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what I can do is move your workstation

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while I conduct the investigation is

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that okay with you have them agree to it

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before moving on to step three prepare

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yourself to conduct a good faith review

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a good faith review means you assume

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good intent on both parties while

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thoroughly investigating the complaint

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it involves conducting the investigation

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diligently and impartially and

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considering all evidence before reaching

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a conclusion a good faith review ensures

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that investigation is fair objective and

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unbiased step three select the

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investigator you don't have to be the

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investigator sometimes you shouldn't be

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according to Sherm the appropriate

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investigator should investigate

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objectively without bias have no stake

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in the outcome possess prior

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investigative knowledge and working

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knowledge of employment laws have strong

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interpersonal skills to build rapport

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and be perceived as neutral and fair pay

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attention to detail and have the right

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temperament to conduct interviews the

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person conducting the review should not

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be a direct colleague of the individual

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in question so they shouldn't be a team

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member or someone who interacts with

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them regularly choose a trusted employee

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who will approach the review with

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Integrity it might be beneficial to

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engage a third-party professional as

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they are likely to have the qualities

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needed for an unbiased and thorough

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investigation step four plan for the

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investigation if you're not the one

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leading the review you will likely work

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closely with the person overseeing it to

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devise a plan for example if you choose

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Amber a manager from a different

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department to handle the review she will

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document the progress and keep you

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updated regularly Amber might start by

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having lunch or going for a walk with

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each party involved she could also sit

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in on meetings or observe work stations

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ensure your plan aligns with enforcement

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Guidance the eeo sees enforcement

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guidance on harassment in the workplace

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breaks down liability standards evidence

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for harassment and when an employer is

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held Li

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for instance an employer is liable for a

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hostile work environment if it

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unreasonably failed to prevent the

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harassment or failed to take reasonable

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corrective action in response to

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harassment it knew or should have known

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about at the very least you should take

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Swift action to separate the

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complaintant from the accused as soon as

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you notice or hear of an issue that way

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you are airing on the side of caution

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and ensuring EEOC compliance pay

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attention to your work work force to

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avoid costly lawsuits this document also

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details what qualifies as unreasonable

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failure to prevent unlawful harassment

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including adequacy of the employer's

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anti-harassment policy complaint

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procedures and training authority of the

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alleged harasser over the complainant

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efforts to monitor the workplace and

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steps to minimize known or obvious risks

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of harassment step five gather evidence

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at this stage the investigator will

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collect all relevant evidence related to

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the complaint this can include emails

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messages documents CCTV footage and

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other materials that might support or

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refute the allegations make sure to

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handle all evidence with care and

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confidentiality as HR you're your

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organization's admin so you should be

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able to easily log into anyone's email

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and retrieve the evidence you need in

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most cases you won't need to gather

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every type of evence evence consider the

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allegations and what kind of evidence

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would be most helpful to your

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investigation for example it may be

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helpful to get CCTV footage if an

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employee is accused of coming into work

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intoxicated or stealing time from the

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company for a Time theft investigation

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you may also think outside the box and

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decide to look at the employees badge

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swipes when managing HR investigations

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clear documentation and tracking are

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essential for fair outcomes Bernie

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portals Performance Management feature

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allows you to document incidents track

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progress and manage performance reviews

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all in one place making it easier to

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conduct thorough and unbiased

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investigations if the current issue

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impacts the employees performance you

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don't have to go far to access a paper

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trail step six conduct interviews

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interview the complainant the accused

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and any Witnesses prepare a list of

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questions in advance to ensure You cover

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all necessary topics ask open-ended

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questions to get detailed responses and

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avoid leading questions that suggest a

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particular answer here are some examples

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of leading questions that you don't want

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to ask did the accus threaten you during

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your interaction were you scared during

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the incident was the incident a result

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of specific event as you can tell these

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questions focus on confirming

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preconceived notions rather than

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Gathering facts open-ended interview

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questions should look more like this can

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you describe what happened during your

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interaction with the accused how did you

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feel during and after the incident can

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you tell me more about the events

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leading up to the incident these

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questions allow interviewees and

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witnesses to share more details and you

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don't appear accusatory remember at step

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six you have not already made up your

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mind ask questions in such a way that

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helps you convey your objectivity

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record the interviews with consent and

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take detailed notes to refer back to

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later step seven analyze the findings at

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this stage you will analyze all the

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evidence you've gathered including

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interview responses and witness

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statements look for consistencies and

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discrepancies in the accounts given by

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the involved parties and

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Witnesses assess The credibility of each

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piece of evidence and understand how it

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fits into the overall context this

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analysis is crucial as it forms the

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basis of your decision making

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process step eight make a decision

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review all the evidence and interview

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noes to determine what happened decide

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whether the allegations are

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substantiated and what action needs to

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be taken base your decision on the

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preponderance of evidence meaning it is

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more likely than not that the alleged

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conduct occurred if the evidence

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supports the complaint decide on the

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appropriate corrective action this could

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range from training and mediation to

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disciplinary actions including

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termination depending on the severity of

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the misconduct a thorough employee

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handbook or culture guide will help you

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make fair and Swift decisions regarding

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the appropriate corrective action

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communicate your findings and decisions

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to the involved parties while

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maintaining confidentiality and

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professionalism document the entire

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investigation process including findings

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and actions taken in detail this

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documentation is essential for legal

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compliance and future reference for more

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information on conducting HR

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investigations you can visit Sherm's

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website Linked In the description when

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is it time to transition to authorities

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there are instances where the situation

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may escalate beyond the scope of an

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internal investigation and require

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involving external authorities this is

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particularly true in cases involving

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criminal activities such as money

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laundering physical harm or drug related

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offenses for example if you discover

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that an employee is dealing drugs at

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work or there is physical harm involved

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it is crucial to contact the appropriate

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law enforcement authorities immediately

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let's look at one mishandled HR

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investigation that escalated to the

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Supreme Court in the case of Burlington

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Northern versus Santa Fe Railway company

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versus white Sheila White a forklift

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operator bravely filed a complaint

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alleging sexual harass assment by her

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supervisor however the HR department's

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investigation fell short failing to

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protect white from retaliation instead

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of properly addressing her complaints

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the company retaliated by reassigning

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her to a less desirable position in

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suspending her without pay for 37 days

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so why did this happen according to the

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case after the employee establishes a

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prima Facey case for retaliation the

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burden shifts to the employer to assert

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a non-discriminatory reason for the

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adverse action the case of retaliation

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stands as valid until proven otherwise

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and in white situation it was crystal

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clear that the retaliation actions were

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a direct response to her complaint

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against her supervisor here's where

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things went wrong in the investigation

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the HR department didn't take enough

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steps to Shield white from retaliation

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and the investigation lacked thorough

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documentation and followup to ensure a

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fair outcome this case is a crucial

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reminder for HR departments to be super

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Vigilant and avoid any actions that

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could be seen as retaliatory White's

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case eventually escalated to the Supreme

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Court which ruled in her favor

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establishing that retaliation against an

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employee who files a harassment

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complaint is unlawful under title 7 of

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the Civil Rights Act of

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1964 the company faced significant legal

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costs damages and reputation harm

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remember an HR investigation aims to

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ensure a safe and respectful workplace

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for all employees by following the eight

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steps we've covered in conducting

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thorough unbiased investigations you can

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address issues promptly and maintain

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compliance with legal standards remember

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your role is as strategic as you make

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it