Page 4 - Harassment Investigations Booklet

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Benefits to the Company of an Effective Investigations Process
An effective investigations process can assist the employer in avoiding liability by: creating a procedure to correct any legal or policy violation; making the employee feel like the company is responsive and ethical; identifying problem behavior; and removing or disciplining an offending employee. Court’s often defer to a business’s judgment in employment decisions made after a well-run investigation. By way of example, in Cotran v. Rollins Hudig Hall International, Inc.,
17 Cal. 4th 93 (1998), the California Supreme Court found that an employer who terminated a manager for allegedly having committed sexual harassment did not have to prove that it was correct in its determination, but in that it conducted an appropriate investigation and reached reasonable conclusions based upon that investigation. On the other hand, an employer’s failure to investigate or to act on complaints of harassment or other misconduct can result in increased liability based on a court’s or jury’s determination that the employer does not take complaints seriously.