To defend yourself against a lawsuit by an employee terminated for sexual harassment or other misconduct, it’s essential to thoroughly investigate the accuser’s complaint, as the accompanying story illustrates. Here are the key steps Lucky Stores took which led the court to find it had acted properly before discharging the employee accused of harassment:
- The company maintained and followed a written policy spelling out how sexual harassment complaints would be handled.
- The company designated a neutral human resource representative to conduct the investigation.
- The investigator received training from the company’s attorney on how to investigate a harassment claim.
- The investigation was carried out promptly.
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- The investigator asked open-ended questions designed to elicit facts rather than opinion or rumor.
- The accused harasser was quickly notified of the charges against him, allowed to present his version of the events, and given the opportunity to have the last word once all the other witnesses had been interviewed.
- The investigator tried to resolve discrepancies by interviewing critical witnesses more than once and encouraging them to call him back if they wanted to talk with him again.
- The investigator used witness interview forms to put his findings in writing and had important witnesses provide their own written statements.
- The investigator didn’t ignore information challenging the alleged victims’ credibility, but instead considered it and addressed it in his final report.