The VM Blog
In our blog, you’ll read about everything from workplace misconduct, report writing, and investigating stale complaints to interviewing non-employee witnesses. We hope these articles help you better understand the investigative law process, where common misunderstandings and hold-ups happen, and best practices we can all employ.
The Need for Outside Investigators in Occupational Fraud: A Case Study on Misuse of the Corporate Uber Account
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.
What Is Senate Bill 2 And Why Should Investigators And Law Enforcement Agencies Who Conduct Investigations Into Alleged Police Misconduct Be Paying Close Attention To Its Provisions?
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!
The Art of Investigating Occupational Fraud
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.
A Bridge Too Far: Five Tips For Occasions When A Representative’s Conduct Becomes Disruptive
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.
POBR/FBOR Investigations: A Primer on the Basics
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.
“We Investigated Ourselves and Found We Did Nothing Wrong!”– A Former Plaintiff’s Counsel’s Perspective on Internal Investigators
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.
Two Handy Tools For Public Sector Investigations (California)
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: Workplace Investigations
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!
Lessons Learned from Faulty Investigations
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?”
Seeking A Second Opinion: Why Impartial Skelly Officers Matter In Discipline Cases
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.
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Decision Expands Whistleblower Protections in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC.
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded protections for whistleblowers under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”). In February 2024, the Court decided Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC. It held that a whistleblower does not need to prove that their employer acted with “retaliatory intent” in taking an adverse action against the employee.
The Flip-Flopping Over Confidentiality Admonitions Continues
To admonish or not to admonish? That is the question - again.
Top Five Similarities and Differences Between Internal and External Investigators: Just the Same, but Different
At VM, we know workplace investigations. It’s what we do, every day. But we are always retained as external attorney investigators. Conducting an independent investigation as an external attorney investigator can be quite different from conducting an investigation as an internal human resources or compliance professional.
A Letter to All You Large Employers With An Internal Investigative Team:
Consider this. It is an ordinary Monday. You receive notice of a complaint of sexual harassment. Maybe it is by or against a valuable, high-performing executive. Maybe it is by or against a one-month employee you are just getting to know. Either way, yours is a fascinating and challenging job. Your policy says the complaint must be investigated. But by who? Should you direct this investigation to an in-house investigator, or go to a third-party investigator?
Fruit Of The Poisonous Supervisor: Considerations For Considering Statements Taken In Violation Of Weingarten
It can be a refreshing treat when an investigator gets to jump into an investigation where some evidence has already been gathered, and they have at least some idea what the parties are going to say. The ultimate fruit of the investigation, the findings, are almost always much easier to reach quickly when there are prior statements to rely upon.
Three Reasons Why Impartiality in Workplace Investigations is Critical
Workplace investigations are increasingly in the public eye. Consider the Phoenix Suns, where an investigation sustained claims of race- and gender-based misconduct against the former owner, Robert Sarver, resulting in a one-year suspension and $10 million fine. Or Uber, which fired 20 employees after an investigator interviewed 200 people about workplace culture.
Phoenix Suns’ Investigation: What Every Employer Needs to Know
I recently came across the following anonymous quote “Learning from your mistakes makes you smart. Learning from the mistakes of others makes you wise.” So true. Nowadays, employers’ mistakes sometimes end up on the proverbial “front page” for all to see. While embarrassing and often damaging to the organization, we have the opportunity to learn from these public missteps. One recent example is the NBA’s investigation of Phoenix Suns owner, Robert Saver.