If you run a Fortune 500 company, nonprofit, or municipality, and you face claims of discrimination or sexual harassment in the workplace, you should consider hiring a professional third-party workplace investigator.
Our Managing Partner and Litigation Attorney are AWI Certificate Holders and members of the Association of Workplace Investigators. AWI is a professional membership association for those who conduct and manage workplace investigations.
At The Noble Law, our deliver timely and trusted advice for workplace complaints. We conduct comprehensive, objective investigations ensuring that employers can have confidence that the findings are credible and free from accusations of bias that internal investigations sometimes experience. The Noble Law workplace investigators bring the legal knowledge, interviewing skills, legal analysis, and comprehensive report findings to workplace investigations relating to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and whistleblower policies, among others.
When you need trusted counsel for workplace disputes, The Noble Law is uniquely positioned to help. Through independent investigations, we provide a reliable understanding of the facts, assess risk, and provide legal guidance for addressing the issues at hand as well as best practices moving forward. Our experienced attorneys provide legal services in North Carolina and South Carolina.
A claim of harassment, discrimination or other unlawful conduct can inflict serious legal, financial and reputational damage on a company—but it doesn’t have to. The actions that key decision-makers take at the outset of such a problem can curtail the damage while laying the groundwork for an efficient outcome. One of the most important steps you can take as an employer is to conduct a thorough and impartial workplace investigation.
The Noble Law is a trusted source of workplace investigation services for businesses and organizations throughout North Carolina. An experienced Raleigh workplace investigations attorney at our firm can help you overcome this challenge effectively and in a manner that lends your business and the investigation credibility.
When Are Workplace Investigations Required?
Employers are required by law to conduct workplace investigations when an employee reports:
- Sexual harassment
- Discrimination based on age, sex, race, national origin or other protected characteristics
- Health and safety violations
- Workplace violence or threats
- Fraud, misappropriation and other illegal activity
- Illegal retaliation based on protected activity
The timeframe for conducting workplace investigations varies, depending upon the nature of the allegation, the complexity of the issue and other factors, but the sooner you begin the better.
You Can Conduct an Investigation Internally. But Should You?
Once a complaint is filed, the company can conduct their investigation internally or entrust it to an outside firm.
Placing such a task in the hands of your HR department or other internal team may seem like an easier or less expensive option, but this approach comes with a number of potential pitfalls.
The main risk of conducting a workplace investigation internally is that its findings could be tainted by a perception of bias. As competent and well-meaning as your staff members are, the mere perception of partiality can inflict lasting damage on the credibility of your report.
Given that these findings may be scrutinized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the North Carolina Department of Labor or other state or federal employment agencies (or even a Court), credibility is at a premium.
Another potential pitfall of having HR conduct the investigation is that your employees may feel compelled to bias their own testimony in favor of the company. In a fair and impartial investigation, witnesses should feel free to report their true opinions and accounts of the circumstances they witnessed—without fear that it will hurt their position at work.
A Look Inside Workplace Investigations
What does a workplace investigation entail? The answer depends upon the nature of the complaint and other factors, but some of the elements you can expect include:
- A thorough review of all relevant documentation, including your company’s policies and procedures; emails, IMs and other evidence concerning the complaint; and the complaint itself
- Interviews of all parties involved and witnesses, including coworkers, managers, executives and anyone who can help shed light on the events in question
- A thorough report based on a careful analysis of the evidence
The Raleigh workplace investigations attorneys at The Noble Law take their role seriously and will conduct their review with the utmost care, attention to detail and impartiality you expect.
Why The Noble Law?
Some of the reasons business leaders in North Carolina trust The Noble Law with their most complex and sensitive workplace investigations include:
We Are Trusted by Employees
Since 2009, we have earned a reputation as a trusted ally for people facing discrimination, harassment and other workplace violations. We believe this trust lends our investigations credibility with the witnesses we summon as well as the employee or employees who make the claims at the heart of these investigations.
We Are a Full-Service Employment Law Firm
We can not only provide you with a neutral and credible workplace investigation. We can also help you put policies and procedures in place that help you avoid such issues from arising in the future. When disputes arise, we can help you seek efficient outcomes through negotiation and settlement, or, if necessary, in court.
The employment law attorneys at our firm have successfully handled numerous cases, representing both employers and employees. Our broad perspective on these issues allows us to see them from both sides.
Learn More About Our Workplace Investigation Services in Raleigh
A workplace investigation can drain significant time and resources from your company. Our Raleigh workplace investigations attorneys are here to take that burden out of your hands, while providing you with a highly credible investigation that stands up to scrutiny. Contact The Noble Law today to learn how we can help.
Learn more about our office location.