Government Claims + Investigations

Compliance Audits

Many clients request that we conduct proactive audits of their employment policies and practices. Because we have handled thousands of government audits and investigations, we are able to anticipate the issues that a government agency might flag as problematic, and help the client address those issues before a claim is filed.  Sometimes, we leverage experience from complementary practice areas at the firm, including our White Collar Litigation + Investigations, Environmental + Natural Resources, and Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement groups.  The investment in compliance before problems arise may prevent a claim from occurring, but it will certainly help the client to be better prepared to respond to a claim or an investigation that does occur.

Agency Investigation Representation

Our attorneys are adept at counseling employers as they respond to charges and complaints filed with government agencies alleging violations of federal, state, or local regulations. When a government agency such as the EEOC, DOL, NLRB, OFCCP or OSHA notifies a client that the agency will be conducting an audit or investigation of their employment practices, we guide the client through the audit or investigation process, assist with on-site investigations, and represent them in negotiations with the agency and responding to any citations that are issued.

Internal Investigations

Employers are often faced with the need to perform internal investigations in response to internal complaints or information the employer learns that raises legitimate concerns about potential violations of law or the employer’s policies.  Employers have a duty to investigate some internal complaints, such as  complaints of discrimination or retaliation in the workplace.  Employers choose to investigate many other issues, such as alleged or suspected violations of personal conduct, conflict of interest, and other important company policies. 

We have extensive experience conducting these internal investigations.  We often team with our client’s internal human resources or employee relations investigation professionals.  In some complex cases, we provide a team of experienced employment and white-collar lawyers who bring complimentary skillsets to the investigation.  Our goal is always to effectively, successfully, and efficiently investigate the disputed issues and discretely report our results to the appropriate internal stakeholder.