A New Mexico company, Third Bench Holdings LLC, operating as Sher-Wood Cabinetry, settled a retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EEOC alleged the general manager complained about national origin discrimination by a company official. The human resources ("HR") director investigated the complaint, which included interviewing the general manager's husband, who also worked at the company.
According to the allegations, one day after the investigation began, the general manager was demoted, and her husband was fired. The HR director then reported concerns that the company official, who was the subject of the initial investigation, was engaging in retaliatory conduct. After this report, the HR director was fired, as well.
The cabinetry company settled with the EEOC for $165,000, to be paid to the three employees.
Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/third-bench-holdings-pay-165000-eeoc-retaliation-lawsuit
Commentary
When a complaint is made, there must be a thorough, prompt, and objective investigation into the matter. In many organizations, the HR department is responsible for conducting such investigations. For a properly unbiased investigation to occur, the HR or other department that manages personnel issues must be able to have genuine independence from the those participating in the investigation, whether the participant is a complainant, the accused, or a witness.
In the above case, the person responsible for the investigation, the HR director, was allegedly terminated for investigating a serious matter and reporting what was found.
Investigations are compromised when a person of power and authority has the ability to affect the employment of those performing the investigation. This structure has the potential to taint any investigation attempts about those in power and will have a chilling effect on all reporting if employees think their complaints will not be properly investigated.
When a report accuses a top leader or other person in power, organizations can take the following steps:
· Establish a reporting structure that prevents or lowers the risk of retaliation, such as a neutral third-party.
· Hire an experienced third-party investigator to investigate and prepare a written investigation report.
· Ensure HR personnel and all investigation participants are protected from adverse employment actions during and following an investigation.
The final takeaway is that an organization exposes itself to retaliation complaints by taking negative actions against those involved in an investigation and should take the steps necessary to ensure that the investigation process is safe and fair.
