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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Employment and Workers Comp

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, August 31, 2022

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will address company investigations of disputed workplace events and the use of the honest belief rule. The panel will discuss recent cases that clarify how employers can utilize the rule to assure that the investigation results are respected and upheld. The panel will guide practitioners on how to conduct investigations to avoid potential pretextual discrimination.

Faculty

Priscilla Hapner
Founder
Office of Priscilla Hapner

Ms. Hapner has over 25 years of experience in advising and representing management in organizations of all sizes in the private, public and non-profit sectors concerning compliance with state and federal employment statutes. This includes the Family and Medical Leave Act; statutes prohibiting employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation; and laws affecting compensation, trade secrets, non-competition, whistleblowing, hiring, firing, layoffs, union relations, record-keeping, affirmative action, and privacy.  

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Jonathan T. Hyman
Member
Wickens Herzer Panza

Mr. Hyman focuses his practice on management-side labor and employment law, providing businesses proactive solutions to solve their workforce problems and reactive solutions when they find themselves litigating against an employee or group of employees. Mr. Hyman serves as outside in-house counsel for businesses. He advises on firing an employee, policy and contract drafting, disability accommodation, and internal complaints or investigations. Mr. Hyman also has extensive experience on more specialized labor and employment law issues, such as wage and hour compliance, social media, cybersecurity, and other workplace technology concerns, affirmative action compliance, and union avoidance and labor relations.

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Christina Hynes Mesco
Of Counsel
The Prinz Law Firm, PC

Ms. Mesco offers expert guidance to clients with employment law and business-related needs. She frequently negotiates, drafts, and reviews employment, retention, non-compete, non-solicitation, equity, change-in-control, consulting, and other employment-related agreements and documents. Ms. Mesco also plays a leading role in the firm’s workplace training offerings. She has provided custom-tailored training to numerous employers, helping them update their policies, develop best practices, and create positive workplace cultures that allow businesses to thrive and employees to feel appreciated.

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Description

Employers must consider that unlawful discrimination and retaliation claims can arise in the treatment of individuals. In either case, employers should undertake reasonable investigations and exercise due diligence before implementing a decision that impacts an individual's employment.

When investigating workplace misconduct, employers should know that if an employee has a "reasonable belief" that the conduct they are objecting to is unlawful or discriminatory, an employer can still be found liable for retaliation if it takes action against the employee--even if the challenged conduct is ultimately found non-discriminatory. In other words, the employee could be wrong about the discrimination complaint, but the employer can still be liable for retaliating against the employee for complaining. On the other hand, an employer might be found not to have violated an employment law if it "honestly believes" an employee has engaged in inappropriate activity.

Recent cases have concluded that some employers have engaged in pretextual discrimination and misapplied what is commonly referred to as the "honest belief rule." There have been conflicting decisions as the courts have to balance the competing policy considerations of employees being deterred from filing discrimination actions versus employers being held powerless to discipline employees for filing false charges, lying to investigators, and possibly defaming others with false claims.

Employers should also remember to retain consistent records of all personnel decisions and ensure that decision-makers remain neutral.

Listen as our experienced panel discusses workplace investigations, the use of the honest belief rule, and how recent decisions may affect employers. The panel will address the best practices for mitigating potential discrimination claims.

Outline

  1. Workplace investigations
  2. Honest belief rule defined
  3. Recent cases
  4. Best practices

Benefits

The panel will address these and other key topics:

  • How does the honest belief rule apply in workplace investigations?
  • What can be learned from recent decisions regarding pretextual discrimination claims?
  • What best practices can employers implement to avoid discrimination claims in "honest belief" cases?