EEO Internal Investigations: Guidance for Employment Counsel

Planning and Conducting Effective Investigations of Discrimination, Retaliation and Harassment Claims

Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A

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Conducted on Thursday, September 7, 2017

Recorded event now available

or call 1-800-926-7926

This CLE course will prepare employment practitioners to counsel clients on legal and practical strategies for planning, conducting and documenting equal employment opportunity (EEO) internal investigations.

Description

The flood of employee complaints and lawsuits alleging workplace discrimination continues unabated. The EEOC’s current strategic plan continues the agency’s focus on systemic discrimination litigation.

Counsel to employers should carefully guide employers’ actions when responding to a complaint of mistreatment based on an employee’s protected status. An inappropriate response to an individual claim may cause an employer to be targeted for a systemic discrimination lawsuit.

A fair and effective EEO internal investigation can be an employer’s best defense against a potential discrimination lawsuit. When conducted properly, an internal investigation can help a company avoid costly and protracted litigation.

Listen as our panel of employment attorneys explains legal and practical strategies for conducting EEO internal investigations. The panel will explain steps that employers and their counsel should take before, during and after investigating claims of workplace discrimination, retaliation and harassment claims to minimize litigation risks for a company.

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Outline

  1. Planning the investigation/pre-investigation strategies
    1. Benefits and risks of using attorney to conduct investigation
    2. Choosing the right investigator
    3. Common investigation techniques—forensics, surveillance, email reviews, etc.
  2. Conducting the investigation
    1. Gathering evidence/litigation hold notices
    2. Managing the people/instructing managers
    3. Privilege issues
  3. Post-investigation strategies
    1. Documenting the investigation
    2. Evaluating evidence obtained
    3. Determining remedial action
    4. Minimizing risks of employee retaliation claims

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • Key timing for an employer to bring in counsel to conduct an EEO internal investigation—and special considerations for practitioners involved
  • Collection of email and other virtual evidence related to the allegations underlying the investigation vs. employees’ reasonable expectations of privacy
  • Best practices to minimize the risk of litigation when planning, conducting and documenting internal EEO investigations

Faculty

Marcia Nelson Jackson
Marcia Nelson Jackson
Partner
Wick Phillips

Ms. Jackson's practice includes all aspects of employment and labor law, strategic client counseling,...  |  Read More

Tracy, Teresa
Teresa R. (Terri) Tracy
Partner
Freeman Freeman & Smiley

Ms. Tracy represents management in all areas of labor and employment law and litigation, including wrongful...  |  Read More

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