Workplace investigations in the public sector are a key focus of PII’s practice. Investigations in public agencies differ markedly from those in the private sector. Regularly retained by dozens of public entities, PII has conducted investigations involving police and fire departments, public schools and universities, public works agencies, city governments, social services bureaus, and public utilities.
These investigations have addressed employee and managerial misconduct, sexual harassment complaints, fraudulent reporting of overtime hours, leaks of sensitive information to third parties, failure to meet health and safety standards, and violations of environmental regulations. Once the investigations are complete, PII investigators have been called upon to present their findings orally and in writing to legal counsel, to closed sessions meetings of elected officials, and public hearings.
For example, PII has worked with the following public-sector employers:
• A law enforcement agency that needed to determine whether a detective made untruthful statements about a burglary investigation.
• A social services agency that was facing dozens of allegations of disability discrimination against multiple managers brought forward by an employee the agency furloughed due to a mental illness.
• A public works agency that received complaints about a ten-year pattern of discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on age, race and gender.
• A County fire department that needed to know if firefighters, including captains, had committed multiple acts of arson and vandalism, and provided false statements.