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You must conduct an investigation fairly. Follow procedures that create fairness. California law emphasizes that an employer’s findings from an investigation do not necessarily need to be correct if the employer followed a fair procedure to come to that result.
In King v. United Parcel Service, Inc., an employee who had recently returned from medical leave was terminated for a violation of organization policy, falsifying a timecard. The employee sued for wrongful termination. The employer investigated the employee’s alleged violation and found that it had occurred.1
King sued UPS, claiming he was fired because he is disabled and that the reason UPS gave for termination was pretext and bad faith. He also claimed that UPS was wrong in its belief that he falsified the timecard. The court found that King failed to present any evidence establishing that UPS discriminated against him, and that it did not matter if he committed an integrity violation of UPS’ policies if UPS honestly believed he did. UPS conducted a thorough and objective investigation and came to a reasonable conclusion. California law consistently emphasizes that an employer’s findings from an investigation do not need to be correct if the employer followed a fair procedure to come to that result.
The California Supreme Court ruled that when an employer terminates an employee based on a good-faith determination of employee misconduct, the termination itself does not create the foundation for a wrongful termination claim even if the employee later proves that the misconduct did not occur.
In Cotran v. Rollins Hudig Hall International, Inc., an employee was terminated for sexual harassment after an extensive and well-documented investigation. At trial, the employee who was accused of harassment testified that the acts labeled sexual harassment were consensual sexual relationships, not unlawful harassment. The California Supreme Court granted a review of the case to determine the proper standard that juries should use when evaluating an employer’s “good-faith” defense.
According to the California Supreme Court, a jury must determine if the employer’s decision to terminate an employee was reached honestly, after an appropriate investigation and for reasons that were not arbitrary or designed to hide the real reason for the termination. If so, the employer did not wrongfully terminate the employee, even if the alleged misconduct never occurred.2 For more information, see Harassment Investigation.
1. King v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 152 Cal. App. 4th 426 (2007)
2. Cotran v. Rollins Hudig Hall International, Inc., 17 Cal. 4th 93 (1998)