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Workplace investigations — South Carolina

Just as in emergency medicine, where the actions taken immediately after an accident are critical in determining the patient’s future, a rapid response to workplace problems, such as harassment, discrimination, retaliation or conflict among co-workers, is crucial to lessening the employer’s risk of liability.

Subjects that warrant investigations

There are many different types of employee conduct that may trigger an obligation by the employer to conduct the investigation. Harassment, discrimination and retaliation based on race, sex, age, religion disability and other protected categories are the most common and offer the greatest potential to avoid liability by conducting prompt and proper investigations and follow up corrective actions. This topic will therefore use the subject of harassment, discrimination and retaliation investigations as a way to illustrate the methods of conducting proper investigations of employee conduct.

There are a variety of other subjects, however, that employers must investigate. Information that a worker may threaten others or become violent must be promptly and thoroughly investigated, otherwise the employer may be subjected to large potential liability, as discussed in Workplace violence. Common examples of workplace conduct allegations that warrant investigations by employers include the following: