Internal Investigations Practice Tip

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What Should You Do If A Person Relevant To Investigation Leaves Before Your Investigation Is Complete?

Post By: Adam Balfour (LinkedIn), Vice President and General Counsel for Corporate Compliance and Latin America, Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

Imagine the situation – you are halfway through an internal investigation when a person who is relevant to your investigation leaves your organization for whatever reason. What should you do in this situation? Should you continue the investigation or consider the matter closed? The answer, as you will see in this practice tip, depends on a few different factors and each matter should be evaluated individually.

  • Who Left And What Was Their Involvement In The Investigation?: The first questions to ask in this situation are who left and what was her/his/their involvement in the investigation? Is the person who left the reporter, a witness or potential witness, a person accused of wrongdoing or playing some other role in the investigation? Do you know why the person left and if their departure was in any way connected with the investigation, related to the allegations or because of their involvement (i.e. did someone leave because of actual or perceived retaliation)?
  • What If The Reporter Leaves?: In most instances, the departure of the reporter will not be a reason to end the investigation solely on this basis. It is important to continue looking into the allegations raised and determining whether any issue or wrongdoing occurred. It is also important to understand why the reporter left the organization and if she/he did so because of retaliation or any other reasons that should concern to your organization.
  • What If The Person Accused Of Wrongdoing Leaves?: If the employee who is leaving, or already left, is accused of wrongdoing, you will want to consider whether or not to continue the investigation. In some (but not all instances), if the person accused of wrongdoing leaves, this may by itself address the issue if the alleged or actual wrongdoing was solely attributable to that person and will end with that person’s departure from the company. It will still be important that an investigation is conducted to validate that the person’s departure ends the alleged or actual wrongdoing or if a more thorough investigation still needs to take place. If it is possible that the wrongdoing has not ended with the person’s departure or if there are other reasons to continue with the investigation (i.e. potential liability, concerns about whether other people were involved or if there were any control failures), the investigation should continue. It is also worth remembering that even if the person accused of wrongdoing leaves, conducting an investigation and providing closure to the reporter will help ensure that reporter and other employees have trust in our investigations process and that your organization listens when employees speak up.
  • Departure Of A Witness Or Other Involved Person: If the departing person was a witness, you will want to try to ascertain whether the perspective and information that that person has is so crucial that you would not be able to continue the investigation without them. If the person has not yet left, you should prioritize interviewing the person as soon as possible to ensure you have all the relevant information from her or him.
  • Can I Contact The Relevant Employee After She/He Has Left Your Organization?: If a person of interest has already left, discuss with Human Resources and the Law Department whether it would be appropriate to reach out to the person to see if she/he would be willing to speak with you and provide information for your investigation. Someone might be less inclined to cooperate and provide information once they have left the organization, so where possible try to interview the person before she/he leaves.

As this practice tip hopefully demonstrates, the departure of an employee or other person relevant to an internal investigation needs to be carefully considered to determine the correct approach to take and whether an investigation should continue. Each situation must be carefully and individually assessed to determine what is in the best interests of your organization, your employees and your culture.

Note: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.