What do we do when we’ve completed an internal investigation and the alleged wrongdoer just denies the allegation, leaving us with a “he said, she said” problem?
I’ve rarely been in situations in which you cannot look beyond the “he said, she said” of an alleged incident and find evidence supporting one person’s story more than the other person’s. Even when misconduct occurs in private, you can often uncover information that will help spell out whether misconduct actually occurred. Did the accuser say something to anyone about the alleged incident that would point to whether the wrongdoing took place? Are there emails that help shed light on what actually happened between these two people? You need to look for the ripple effect of the alleged misconduct.
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Rebecca A. Speer, Esq., is founder and principal of Speer Associates/ Workplace Counsel, an employment law firm in San Francisco that specializes in conducting independent investigations.