Internal Investigations Crash Course
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Speaker : Bob Oberstein
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When : Wednesday, December 18, 2024
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Time : 01 : 00 PM EST
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Bob Oberstein is uniquely qualified with over 50 years of Labor Relations experience on both sides of the table in both the private and public sectors where he conducted countless investigations. Bob was also the Director of the Labor Management Relations program at Ottawa University, Phoenix where additionally, he served as Ombudsman for all student, faculty and staff complaints which often involved conducting internal investigations. Bob has several published articles to his credit in addition to his arbitration awards and has also been recognized in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Additionally, Bob served on several boards, commissions, and panels where he participated in resolving or adjudicating all manner of workplace issues in a variety of industries. In all these capacities as well as being both mediator and arbitrator Bob often reviewed investigations to determine if they had been properly performed and had merit. Additionally, he has qualified as an MD-110 investigator for Title VII and other discrimination related charges as well as being a “Lifetime Certificate Holder” of the Association of Workplace Investigators. Moreover, Bob earned a Master of Jurisprudence in Labor and Employment Law from Tulane University's School of Law. Bob continues to serve the labor management community as well as other groups as an Arbitrator, Mediator, Facilitator, Investigator, Trainer and Educator.
Participants will learn:
- Maintaining ethical behavior in all aspects of the investigation
- Always respecting the parties
- Staying focused on the issue(s) and not getting distracted or exceeding one’s authority
- Conducting an organized and well-documented investigation
- How to avoid common legal minefields
- How to identify and use standards and models of proof to aid the investigation
- Provide parties with a concise and objective report of the facts, analysis of those facts, and conclusions and or recommendations
Areas Covered
- The Investigator’s role
- The art of objectivity
- Benefits of multiple interview styles/techniques
- Proper application of “Yes/No” questions
- Single vs. multiple interview sessions
- Documenting the investigation from complaint to conclusion
- Standards/models of proof and when/how to utilize them
- The two major types of workplace investigations (Title VII and misconduct)
- Avoiding legal minefields: Negligent Investigation, Interference with Contractual Obligations, Loudermill Rights, Weingarten Rights, Violation of Public Policy, False light, Defamation, False Imprisonment, Intentional or Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress, Searches and Monitoring/Surveillance.
Who Should Attend
All level managers, supervisors, and executives. All Levels of both in-house and outside counsel. All levels of Union representation and officers (stewards, Business Representatives, Business Managers, Presidents, and all officers/ board members). All levels of Human Resources and specifically Labor Relations. All levels of security personnel/staff.
Why Should You Attend
Are you prepared to conduct a proper investigation? Will it comply with all Federal, State, and local laws as well as all your policies? Will that investigation be objective and respect all party’s rights? Will it be presented in a professional manner? Will it meet the tests of Just Cause (fair, objective, and impartial establishing appropriate levels of proof), or Douglas Factors (absent malice, etc.)? It’s important to always be mindful that your investigation can and in all likelihood will become evidence along with your investigator and investigation process being subject to cross-examination as well as judicial review. So, it’s critical it be done right every step of the way.
In short, this webinar can help you and your organization understand what’s required to conduct an effective and professional investigation while minimizing risk (financial, legal, damage to internal and external reputation, etc.).
Let’s face it, it is a minefield out there so it’s important to know what you can, cannot, should, and must do before you get started!
Topic Background
If done right an investigation can help get to the bottom of things. If done wrong, it all too often makes things worse. So, it pays to know how to do it right every step of the way. The challenge of complying with all applicable standards/regulations is to educate and update all who are responsible for conducting and/or overseeing/administering investigations within the organization. Otherwise, they may not have the tools or skill sets to be aware of all those obligations and responsibilities which in turn can lead to unintentional violations of law and challenges to the integrity and credibility of the investigation and its results/conclusions.
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$160.00
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