VM Recommends is a monthly feature where members of our Team give suggestions on podcasts, television, movies, games and books for you to spend time with.

This month’s VM Recommends brings us selections from Attorney Investigator, Nicole Beadry.

Part Two of this blog focuses on key, practical takeaways for investigators, internal and external alike.  Law enforcement agencies, and external investigators working with them, need to understand how key provisions of SB 2 will impact their investigations.  Do not get left behind, as SB 2 changes the playing field!  Keep reading to learn about the three most pivotal impacts for your next investigation.

Recent statistics from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) 2024 Report to the Nations highlight that organizations lose an estimated 5% of revenue annually to fraud. While internal controls and monitoring are essential first steps, engaging independent investigators can be crucial when potential fraud is detected. A recent investigation conducted by our firm helps illustrate why.

Although Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) took effect January 1, 2022 (some of its provisions took effect at later dates, as outlined below), many law enforcement agencies (and outside investigators) are still becoming acquainted with its many new, impactful provisions.  Here, I highlight noteworthy provisions of SB 2 while also highly recommending giving SB 2 a close read before embarking on any Peace Officer misconduct investigations.  Do not sleep on SB 2!

VM Recommends is a monthly feature where members of our Team give suggestions on podcasts, television, movies and books for you to spend time with.

This month’s VM Recommends brings us selections from Attorney Investigator, Kamon Naddaf.

Occupational fraud remains among the most damaging threats to organizational assets and reputation. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)'s latest Report to the Nations, organizations lose an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenue to fraud, with the median loss exceeding $8.3 million in cases involving senior employees. Investigating these frauds is particularly challenging because the perpetrators are trusted insiders who understand control systems and can influence evidence and witnesses.

VM Recommends is a monthly feature where members of our Team give suggestions on podcasts, television, movies and books for you to spend time with.

This month’s VM Recommends brings us selections from Attorney Investigator, Devin Mikulka.

In our prior blog post, “Build Bridges, Not Barriers,” we discussed how to make the most of an interviewee’s representative during an interview and ways to head off any potential friction in advance. This blog post discusses some suggestions and options investigators have when a representative’s conduct crosses the line into disruptive behavior. While the vast majority of representatives do not cross this line, these tips will help you if you ever encounter the rare exception.

VM Recommends is a monthly feature where members of our Team give suggestions on podcasts, television, movies and books for you to spend time with.

This month’s VM Recommends brings us selections from Partner, Erich Knorr, who leads the Tempe, Arizona office.

I (female, 25) joined Glowing Cosmetics one year ago as a Merchandise Intern. After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, a position at Glowing Cosmetics was a great opportunity for a recent grad. The stars aligned when Glowing came to my university’s career fair. The company had an opening for their Diversity Internship, and as a female, Mexican immigrant, I decided to apply. After a rigorous application process, I got the job! I really fought for this position, and I’m proud to have earned it.

Investigations of police or firefighter misconduct in California are governed by two key statutes: the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBR) and the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act (FBOR). These statutes establish protections for peace officers and firefighters subject to such investigations.

Whenever an employer is on notice of an employee concern that warrants an investigation, the next decision, invariably, is whether to perform the investigation in house or hire an outside investigator. In most situations, it is prudent, and even preferred, to use a qualified internal investigator.

VM Recommends is a monthly feature where members of our Team give suggestions on podcasts, television, movies and books for you to spend time with.

This month’s VM Recommends brings us selections from our San Diego Editor and Paralegal, Antonia Gordon.

I am 65-year-old female and have worked at Bob’s Grocer for almost 20 years. I love my job and all of my coworkers. Bob is the best, but recently, he hired this new manager. I cannot stand this new guy, R. He is such a pompous jerk.

The laws applicable to the operations of public agencies create opportunities to gather evidence and information that are unique to the public sector. These opportunities can help expedite and focus investigations by narrowing the scope of interview questioning, assisting with establishing timelines, and minimizing the delays associated with document requests or personnel file review.

The Morning Show is a ripped-from-the-headlines drama series about Mitch Kessler, a beloved TV anchor, who is fired for sexual misconduct during the MeToo movement. He’s basically Matt Lauer. As a workplace investigator, I was all in. How would the show portray our line of work? Inaccurately, it turns out!

Investigations should be conducted in a thorough, timely, and impartial manner. But what happens when an investigation is not conducted to these standards? As investigators, we frequently learn from the mistakes of other. The investigative news organization Mother Jones recently published an article on an investigation that had several serious missteps; ‘Independent’ Investigations Into Sexual Abuse Are Big Business. Can Survivors Really Trust Them?”

VM Recommends is a monthly feature where members of our Team give suggestions on podcasts, television, movies and books for you to spend time with.

This month’s VM Recommends brings us selections from our Bay Area Managing Partner, Nikki Hall.

I (female, she/her pronouns) started working at Resty Restaurant about three years ago.  I started serving when I was 16 years old, and I’m 26 now.  At the time, Resty’s felt like a good fit for me.  As a mom and a wife, I could only work weekday evenings and weekends when my husband could take care of the kids.  Resty’s agreed to accommodate my schedule when I was hired.  For the past three years, Resty’s has been a great gig for me.  I work hard, and I was quickly promoted to shift lead.  I really liked the staff, too. 

When public employees are facing serious discipline, they are generally entitled to a pre-disciplinary process known as a Skelly Hearing or simply, “Skelly,” during which the employee is permitted to respond to the proposed action.[1]  The Skelly is typically brief and does not include the robust components of a post-disciplinary appeal. Nonetheless, the Skelly provides an important opportunity for the employer to hear the employee’s perspective on the proposed discipline before imposing it.