Jason Stavely Quoted in HR Dive Article on Harassment Investigations

Jason Stavely, a St. Louis -based partner in the Quarles & Brady Labor & Employment Practice Group, provided insight for an HR Dive article regarding situations when senior leaders ignore the findings of a human resources (HR) investigation.

When HR is investigating an incident, Stavely emphasized the importance of not only effective documentation that tells a story of what happened, but also treating investigations uniformly to avoid disparities in how different investigations are run or how different types of findings are considered. Failure to do so can result in questions about why the organization treats certain forms of misconduct differently and could lead to broader concerns about the credibility of the organization’s investigative process.

An excerpt:

 When HR finds its investigation stymied, it may be appropriate to get legal counsel involved, Stavely said. This can be particularly helpful in situations where an executive or senior leader has misbehaved, which may necessitate the involvement of external third parties to resolve.

 “I highly recommend approaching them first,” Stavely said of legal counsel. “Not only will they help the HR person navigate the issue, they’ll also be able to help the HR person understand their legal obligations.”

Things get “trickier” if HR instead decides to escalate the matter to other leaders within the organization’s internal structure, Stavely continued. There may be situations where an HR professional could do so on a limited basis with those who can treat investigation confidentiality, “but that’s a whole lot of caveats,” he said.