Employer Liability Regarding "Good Faith" Investigations

What happens if you take all of the necessary steps, come to a conclusion, and are wrong? What if you were to, for example, fire an employee after determining he or she had violated your company's harassment policy? Could you or your employer be sued?

Cotran v. Rollins Hudig Hall International, Inc. is a California Supreme Court case that held the ruling that an employer cannot be held accountable if the investigation was done in "good faith."

The case concerned two female employees who reported harassment by a supervisor (Cotran). The company suspended Cotran for two weeks while it investigated the claims. The company also informed Cotran of the investigation process and asked if he had any witnesses that he requested to be interviewed.

The company interviewed all witnesses requested by Cotran and the complainants. It determined that harassment probably occurred and fired Cotran.

Cotran filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination. The court case brought up an interesting question: Is it the jury's job to determine that harassment occurred, or is it the jury's job to determine if the investigation, regardless of outcome, was conducted as it should be? The trial's ruling shows that an employer is not liable for the outcome if investigations and rulings are done "in good faith."

To learn more about Sexual Harassment Prevention Training For Supervisors visit our Cal/OSHA Sexual Harassment Prevention Training For Supervisors Online Training web page.