Our attorneys have conducted workplace investigations for private and public employers throughout the State of Minnesota. When you engage the Wiley Reber Law, you can be sure that our attorneys will independently perform a complete investigation within your designated parameters. Our attorneys’ background in advising, as litigators, and as in-house counsel have prepared them to perform thorough, detailed, and focused workplace investigations. We are sensitive to employer’s wishes and cost-containment issues with respect to workplace investigations, whether they are related to workplace compliance audits, allegations of employer policy violations, allegations of harassment, or allegations of illegal conduct. At your initial consultation, our attorneys will provide an accurate estimate of the costs involved in investigating your specific issue.
Our attorneys have earned an outstanding reputation as conscientious investigators. We get to the pertinent facts without wasting time or resources and maintain the integrity of the investigative process, while also allowing witnesses to maintain their dignity. We won’t be swayed by emotion and maintain our objectivity throughout the process. Our attorneys have recently performed investigations for private and public employees on claims of sexual harassment, hostile work environment, wage/hour issues, public misconduct, theft, misuse of public funds, policy violations, workplace violence, and other areas.
Our attorneys also understand that public employers face additional procedural hurdles in every investigation, and we ensure the witnesses receive the requisite procedural protections, including Tennessen warnings, Garrity warnings, and other constitutional protections for law enforcement and other public employees. We are also aware of public data concerns related to public employer investigations and prepare our reports with public data disclosure requirements in mind.
Our attorneys will prepare a thorough, focused report and recommendation for the employer’s use. Typically, the report will focus on providing factual findings pertaining to the issues at hand, and where appropriate and requested, include a recommendation for action or changes so that the employer may follow best practices and implement preventative strategies to avoid similar circumstances in the future.
Comments from Wiley Reber Law’s investigation clients:
Representative Workplace Investigations
Our attorneys have performed over a hundred workplace conduct investigations within the public and private sectors. A sampling of the most recent investigative work he has performed is included below.
- Perform investigation into alleged breaches of Code of Ethics and nepotism policies, and improper hiring and notice procedures
- Perform investigative inquiry into alleged discriminatory and unfair hiring and promotion practices based on race, gender and favoritism, and general allegations of workplace misconduct and retaliation
- Perform investigation as to whether employees were intentionally provoking others to violence and misconduct at work
- Perform investigation into employee misuse of the email system to send personal matters, including racist content
- Investigate employees’ alleged contractual and ethical violations regarding contracting improprieties, conflicts of interest, bribes and the like
- Perform investigation into whether Department Head had been dishonest and violated the MGDPA
- Investigate numerous separate matters concerning alleged violations of Workplace Conduct and Behavior Code polices for many clients
- Perform multiple investigations into employee’s potentially threatening comments and the appropriateness of supervisory response, with a concomitant retaliation claim
- Investigate claimed violations of the DPPA and DVS acts, involving over 12,000 discrete records
- Perform investigation of racial discrimination, race-based slurs and epithets, disparate treatment and disparate impact, and retaliation
- Perform investigation into claims of FMLA interference and retaliation, illegitimate performance reviews, unfair treatment and favoritism, disparagement and berating of employees, alleged disability discrimination and improper transfer of assignments
- Investigate alleged unethical contracting practices and dereliction of duty claims
- Perform investigation into alleged union representative misconduct, including encouraging employees to make false reports leading to potential safety issues and disparagement
- Perform multiple investigations into alleged violations of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA)
- Perform investigations into alleged Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs)
- Perform investigation into alleged Director-level misconduct, including gender and sex-based harassment, unethical treatment, workplace intimidation, and retaliation against complaining parties
- Perform lengthy investigation into alleged unauthorized work, personal use of entity materials, improper monitoring or employees via electronic means, improper campaign tactics, harassment of females, and improper use of work time
- Perform investigation into claims of general harassment, investigative misconduct, and dereliction of duty
- Investigate anonymous complaint involving dozens of witnesses of a harassing and bullying workplace environment
- Perform investigation into alleged gender and sex-based failure to promote claim and hostile work environment claim
- Investigate the supervisor’s alleged violation of the Patients’ Bill of Rights against residents in a care facility, and supervisory misconduct
- Investigate alleged threats and violence by a union representative against employees of a public agency
- Perform dozens of investigations into alleged violations of treatment of vulnerable adults
- Perform investigation of violations of the general harassment policy, supervisory response to complaints, and alleged retaliatory response
- Investigate alleged bullying, abusive language and retaliation in the large fire department
- Investigate alleged violation of workplace non-violence and gun policy, along with threats of self-harm
- Perform investigation of alleged black on black discrimination
- Perform investigation of law enforcement officer’s alleged inappropriate use of the internet, waste of time, and unauthorized break time
- Perform investigation of alleged supervisor’s breach of workplace conduct policies
- Perform investigation of alleged dereliction of duty and failure to perform in a law enforcement agency to establish just cause
- Perform investigation of alleged harassment and bullying by co-worker peers
- Investigate allegations of employees’ workers’ compensation fraud; OHSA violations; not performing assigned work; and “freelancing”
- Investigate allegation of assault on a citizen by an employee
- Investigate workplace climate and prepare recommendations for improvements, strategic planning, and conflict resolution
- Perform investigation of alleged deficient employee performance and alleged workplace neglect to determine if the just cause for discipline is present
- Investigate alleged ethical breach, misuse of property, and false reports by employee
- Investigate allegations of supervisory misconduct and unfair treatment, racial discrimination, insubordination, dereliction of duty, investigative misconduct by witnesses, and retaliation
- Investigate alleged disparate treatment by supervisor relating to disability and failure to accommodate a disability
- Investigate alleged misconduct by supervisor attempting to disparage union steward by manipulating emails to discredit him
- Investigate alleged claims of marital status discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), failure to make mandatory maltreatment report, Open Meeting Law violations (OML), false record reporting, and investigative misconduct by witnesses
- Investigate claims of conflicts of interest in contracting and Cole of Ethics violations
- Investigate claims of sex harassment based on sexual activity and alleged unwelcome conduct
- Investigate claims of discriminatory conduct against citizens based on disability and violations of Workplace Conduct Policies
- Investigate the claim of failure to properly bargain on behalf of the employee
- Investigate claim of sex and gender-based harassment, improper use of the internet, and violations of workplace conduct policy, including detailed use of forensic analysis