PII has a national reputation for conducting investigations of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation. From allegations against elected officials and department heads to police officers and faculty at public colleges and universities, the firm has probed complaints of discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and other protected categories.
Retaliation allegations frequently expose public employers to litigation risk, even when the underlying complaints of discrimination are unfounded. PII has extensive experience in this area, applying objectivity and thorough analysis to complaints that can be murky and sometimes involve long-standing personal conflicts.
Examples of PII investigations:
• The Social Security Administration (SSA) hired PII to conduct discrimination and harassment investigations at SSA offices in 15 states across the U.S.
• An employee in a city’s neighborhood services department was accused by a co-worker of inappropriate touching and sexual harassment. The investigation uncovered a workplace in which several employees were engaging in sexual misconduct at work.
• An employee of a social service agency, who was placed off work due to a mental illness, complained he was discriminated against based on disability. PII was retained to investigate his 32-page complaint, which listed more than 40 allegations against eight managers, including a department head.
• An engineer at a major public works agency complained about a decade long pattern of discrimination and harassment based on his age, race and gender, as a 55-year-old white male. After filing the complaint, he alleged he had been retaliated against and retained an attorney. PII conducted a six-month investigation to address his allegations, which proved to be without merit.