Maryland employers often conduct workplace investigations because of constitutional or statutorily imposed requirements. Indeed, various civil rights and anti-discrimination laws, as well as health and safety laws, require employers to investigate complaints or accidents and take appropriate action. Thus, after a written or oral complaint is made by an employee regarding improper conduct, an affirmative duty may arise requiring the employer to investigate the allegations. This obligation extends to interns and independent contractors for discrimination or harassment complaints. As discussed here, investigation of complaints yields a number of additional, practical benefits for employers as well. Even when no official complaint is made concerning improper conduct, an employer may be under a duty to investigate if the employer has “constructive knowledge” (reasonably should have known) of that conduct. Moreover, an employer should also conduct investigations of employee misconduct before taking action.
It is critical for an employer to investigate claims of harassment, as an investigation can be used as an affirmative defense to a hostile environment harassment charge. In other words, even if harassment occurred, a strong...
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