Independent Workplace Investigations
When the complaint is serious, who investigates matters as much as what they find.
Trusted Clients
An investigation run by someone with a stake in the outcome is worth very little.
If the complaint names a senior leader, if your HR team is a witness, or if the findings will be tested by a lawyer, you need someone from outside.
That's what we do. Our investigators don't advise your HR team day to day. That separation is the point.
When to bring in an outside investigator
The complaint involves an executive, an owner, or the head of HR
Your HR team is a witness, or has already been involved in the underlying events
The complainant has hired a lawyer or filed with the EEOC or a state agency
The allegation is serious: harassment, discrimination, retaliation, violence, or theft
Multiple complaints point to the same person or department
You expect the findings to be challenged
Your internal team doesn't have the bandwidth or the training
What we investigate
How it works
Scope.
We agree with you, and with counsel where involved, on what is being investigated and what is not. A scope that drifts produces a report nobody can use.
Plan.
We identify witnesses, documents, and the order of interviews. We tell you what we need from your systems.
Interviews.
Complainant, respondent, and witnesses, conducted in English or Spanish as the person prefers. We explain confidentiality limits and the anti-retaliation policy to everyone we speak with.
Evidence.
Emails, personnel files, schedules, access logs, prior complaints, and anything else within scope.
Findings.
We make credibility determinations where the evidence supports them and state the standard we applied. We say what we could not determine, and why.
Report.
A written report you can act on and defend.
Debrief.
We walk you and your counsel through it and answer questions. We do not decide discipline. That's your decision, and keeping it yours protects the independence of the finding.
What you get
A written report covering the allegations, the scope, who we interviewed, what documents we reviewed, the standard of proof applied, factual findings, credibility assessments where relevant, and whether policy was violated.
We also note process gaps we saw along the way: a policy that no one could find, a complaint channel nobody used, training that never happened. Those observations are usually where the next complaint gets prevented.
Bilingual, and it matters
Employees give more accurate accounts in the language they think in. A witness working through a translator gives shorter answers, and shorter answers hide detail.
We interview in Spanish or English. Reports are delivered in either language, or both.
Working under privilege
Where you expect litigation, we work at the direction of your counsel so the investigation and report are covered by attorney-client privilege. Set that up before we start.
Who conducts them
Senior consultants only. Our founder began his career with the U.S. Department of Labor, and our team includes people who have handled these matters from the enforcement side, the employer side, and the university and healthcare environments where they are most sensitive.
Timing
Most investigations take two to four weeks from scoping to report, depending on how many witnesses are involved and how quickly we can get to them. When there is a safety concern, we start within 48 hours.
Questions, Answered.
Neutral outside investigators for harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and misconduct complaints. English and Spanish, nationwide.