Internal Investigations: Code Of Conduct And Workplace Complaints

In recent years there has been increased attention on investigations for various forms of misconduct within local governments. This paper will focus on two types of investigations: investigations of bullying and harassment in the workplace, and investigations of misconduct of elected officials under municipal codes of conduct.

While local governments may at times conflate the two, workplace bullying and harassment policies and codes of conduct involve entirely separate investigation procedures that flow from distinct statutory authorities, underlying purposes, and permitted scopes. Furthermore, if not conducted properly, each have the potential to expose local governments to different kinds of liability. In this paper, we discuss the key similarities and differences between these investigation procedures, including their statutory authorities, key preliminary considerations, and step-by-step guidelines on how to process and investigate complaints in relation to workplace bullying and harassment and codes of conduct.

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