Los Angeles Employment Lawyers: Investigations Dos & Don’ts

Summary:

Internal investigations can expose your company to legal risk if mishandled. Los Angeles employment lawyers emphasize prompt, impartial, and well-documented reviews when there are allegations of harassment, safety breaches, or misconduct. Avoid retaliation, maintain confidentiality, and consult legal counsel before and during the process. This guide outlines essential legal dos and don’ts for employers navigating workplace investigations.

Internal investigations at work aren’t just an HR responsibility but a legal obligation. One misstep can turn a routine complaint into a full-blown lawsuit, agency charge, or high-stakes jury trial.

Learn how Los Angeles employment lawyers handle workplace investigations. You’ll know here the legal dos and don’ts when responding to harassment, misconduct, and safety issues and how to protect your business.

Why Every Internal Investigation Carries Legal Risk

A poorly handled workplace investigation doesn’t just sink morale it can trigger lawsuits, penalties, or regulatory scrutiny. It’s like walking a legal tightrope one misstep could mean fines or regulatory probes. Employers must tread carefully and document everything.

Whether it’s a whispered harassment allegation or a formal complaint about wage theft, the stakes are high. California law doesn’t wait for lawsuits to demand action. Employers must investigate employee concerns promptly, thoroughly, and fairly if they run a business.

Employers who fumble these duties face exposure under state and federal law, especially when allegations involve discrimination, safety violations, or retaliation.

When To Investigate: No Delay, No Denial

Employers must investigate workplace issues as soon as they become aware, even if the complaint isn’t formal or written. Waiting only makes matters worse.

Situations Requiring Mandatory Investigation

Prompt investigation is mandatory when you receive:

Consequences Of Delay Or Inaction

Delay or inaction can expose your company to:

Workplace investigations shouldn’t be reactionary, but automatic when red flags surface. If an employee raises a concern during a meeting, leaves an anonymous note, or vents to a supervisor, you’re on notice.

The law doesn’t require a formal complaint to trigger an investigation. It’s a duty. Ignoring early warning signs or hoping a problem “blows over” can backfire badly. It can result in state agency complaints, civil litigation, or punitive damages.

Let’s examine why you must follow the legal dos in your investigation after receiving or knowing a complaint.

The Legal Dos: Investigate Without Creating Exposure

Conducting an internal investigation correctly protects your team and your company. It starts with neutrality, documentation, and a clear separation of roles to ensure fairness and legal defensibility.

Internal investigations aren’t just about getting to the truth; the goal is minimizing risk.

The Dos When Investigating

Here’s how a fair process should look:

Appoint A Qualified & Impartial Investigator:
Use someone with no stake in the outcome. Consider retaining a neutral third-party investigator or legal counsel if you're a small business.
Document Every Step:
Maintain a written log of the interview: the interviewee, questions, evidence reviewed, and each corrective action.
Separate Fact-Finding From Decision-Making:
One person investigates. Another decides discipline. This method protects the integrity of the findings and avoids bias.
Maintain Confidentiality But Don’t Promise It:
Tell witnesses that you will share the information on a need-to-know basis. Absolute secrecy isn’t possible, and you must not promise it.
Follow Through With Corrective Action:
Even if the accused resigns or denies wrongdoing, you may still have a duty to issue discipline or revise policies.

Benefits Of A Fair Process

Following these investigation best practices doesn’t just check a compliance box it builds credibility. A fair, well-documented process protects your company, earns employee trust, and strengthens your position if someone files a claim.

Now, let’s check out the legal don’ts in workplace investigations.

The Legal Don’ts: What To Avoid At All Costs

Investigations go off the rails when employers let bias, emotion, or shortcuts dictate the process. Avoiding common missteps is key to keeping your findings and company out of court.

Reasons Investigations Fall Apart

Too many investigations fall apart because of errors in judgment or execution. HR may retaliate against a complainant without realizing it. Maybe the investigator skips interviews to “wrap things up quickly.”

Perhaps a manager downplays a complaint because they know the accused personally. These missteps can be fatal in court. They not only undermine your legal position, but they also damage workplace trust.

The Don’ts To Avoid

Here are the don’ts:

Don’t Retaliate— Subtly:
Adverse actions against a complainant, even if unintentional (e.g., changing shifts or duties), can be grounds for a retaliation claim.
Don’t Delegate To The Wrong Person:
Avoid assigning investigations to someone close to the accused or lacking training. Bias real or perceived can invalidate the results.
Don’t Skip Documentation:
A lack of records is a red flag. If it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen from a legal standpoint.
Don’t Ignore Past Complaints:
Even if this incident seems isolated, prior unresolved allegations could indicate a pattern, and ignoring them is a major liability risk.
Don’t Misclassify The Complaint:
What seems like a personality conflict might actually be sexual harassment or discrimination. Mislabeling an issue can derail your response.

Even well-meaning employers can stumble into legal traps by skipping steps or overlooking context. Avoiding these don’ts isn’t just about compliance you preserve trust, fairness, and legal defense.

Special Considerations For Harassment & Discrimination

Harassment and discrimination complaints trigger some of the strictest legal requirements. In California, employers are held strictly liable for supervisory misconduct, making prompt, neutral investigations essential.

What Do Harassment & Discrimination Entail?

Harassment and discrimination cases aren’t just sensitive they’re legal landmines. Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code § 12900 et seq.), employers can be held liable even if they didn’t know about a supervisor’s misconduct.

Employers must take every allegation seriously and act on it quickly. Investigations must be neutral, involving both parties, and a meticulous investigation must be in place. Even if the conduct doesn’t meet the legal threshold for harassment, it may still violate your internal policies and demand corrective action.

What Are The Steps To Take?

That’s why your investigation must:

You must take remedial action if you conclude the behavior violated policy, even if it is not illegal under the law. Pro Tip: Always assess whether training, policy revision, or broader organizational change is warranted.

Safety Issues In Internal Investigations

Workplace safety complaints carry a dual risk: employee litigation and Cal/OSHA (Division of Occupational Safety and Health) penalties. Your investigation must address liability and compliance with state health and safety mandates.

What Triggers Safety Issues?

Safety-related investigations often involve more than internal discipline they may trigger reporting duties under Cal/OSHA. A slip-and-fall in the warehouse, reports of faulty machinery, or ignored safety protocols can spiral fast if mishandled.

Immediately preserve evidence, take statements, and document every step. If serious injury or death occurs, consult legal counsel before saying anything publicly or to state inspectors.

Steps For Safety Investigation

When investigating a safety incident:

Employers must be proactive, transparent, and compliant with all regulatory requirements anything less risks citations or shutdowns.

Misconduct, Theft & Time Fraud: Minimize Blowback

Investigations into theft, fraud, or falsified timecards must balance discipline with due process. These are the cases where wrongful termination claims are most common. Ensure to:

Misconduct claims must be investigated carefully, especially involving dishonesty, theft, or timecard fraud. These cases often rely on surveillance, digital records, and witness statements that you must obtain and preserve properly.

It’s tempting to act quickly when trust is broken, but don’t let anger drive decisions. Give the accused employee a chance to respond. Be consistent in discipline if two employees committed similar infractions, they should receive similar consequences. Otherwise, you risk claims of discriminatory enforcement.

Disciplinary decisions must be consistent across employees in similar situations disparities can trigger claims of discrimination or retaliation.

Privilege Pitfalls: What You Say Can Be Used Against You

Not every investigation is under the protection of attorney-client privilege or the work-product doctrine. If the complainant files a lawsuit, your notes, emails, and summaries may be discoverable.

Worse, if your documentation includes damaging admissions or inconsistent findings, an opposing counsel can use them to support claims of retaliation, discrimination, or wrongful termination.

Early involvement of a Los Angeles employment attorney can:

Your attorney can help structure investigations to preserve privilege and reduce risk.

Investigation Wrap-Up: Deliverables & Documentation

Don’t treat the investigation as over once interviews end. You must document final reports, notification letters, and discipline tied directly to policy violations, not opinions. When the fact-finding concludes, your work isn’t done yet.

You need a clear and defensible record that outlines what happened, which rules were broken, and what action was taken. Investigators should not recommend discipline that decision belongs to management or HR.

The final report should include objective facts, not legal conclusions. Notify the complainant and the accused of the outcome, but only to the extent appropriate. Keep all materials securely stored in case of future claims or audits.

After your internal investigation, you should have:

If discipline or termination is imposed, your documentation should tie directly to policy violations, not just subjective impressions.

Los Angeles Employment Lawyers Support Businesses

Even well-meaning employers can land in hot water by skipping steps or mishandling sensitive complaints. A seasoned attorney at a Los Angeles employment law firm can guide you through:

Drafting or reviewing investigation policies.
Training HR and managers on legally compliant procedures.
Handling complex cases involving PAGA claims, retaliation, or high-level executives.
Conducting privileged investigations to minimize litigation risk.

In many cases, working with an attorney can be the difference between swift resolution and drawn-out litigation. Legal guidance leverages the chances of a favorable outcome.

Schedule A Free Case Evaluation

If you’re facing an internal investigation or need guidance on setting up compliant procedures, we’re here to help. At Los Angeles Civil Litigation Lawyers, we know what’s at stake when an employment investigation goes sideways.

Our legal team helps businesses across California navigate sensitive matters with discretion and legal precision. Schedule a complimentary case evaluation today and get clarity on your next move before claims arise.