Written by top federal employment law practitioners, Conducting Misconduct Inquiries provides comprehensive and practical instruction to supervisors investigating alleged employee misconduct. With an emphasis on how to conduct fair and efficient inquiries, the text guides the reader so that only provable claims go forward to third parties and the agency satisfies any obligation to take prompt and appropriate action. Also included are real life examples, sample forms for each step of the process, sample letters, analysis of governing case law, and chapter highlights. Supervisors, managers, and those that advise them rely on Conducting Misconduct Inquiries for instruction on:

• "Management Inquiries" vs. "Administrative Investigations"—including how and when to use an inquiry
• The Advantages of a Management Inquiry Policy
• Who to Appoint as Investigator/Inquirer—including what to look for in a good inquirer/fact-finder
• Authority to Conduct, Obligation to Cooperate and Conveying the Authority to Cooperate in a Management Inquiry—including case precedents and a sample letter informing a subject of his or her required participation in an inquiry
• Constraints on Authority to Conduct an Administrative Investigation—including the most important limitation on how the agency may conduct an inquiry, governing case law on matters that could result in potential criminal charges, and a sample notification of rights and Privacy Act issues
• Taking Interim Action
• Typical Situations—including the types of alleged misconduct that lead to a management inquiry and penalties
• Management Inquiry Basics—including how a management inquiry is initiated through post report activity
• Starting the Inquiry Process
• Understanding and Defining the Issue(s)—including evaluating the issue(s) raised and others that may arise
• Identifying Witnesses and Others to Be Interviewed—including figuring out who to talk to and who witnessed the harassment
• Preparation for the Inquiry—including the mechanics of interviews
• Gathering Documents
• The Interview—including how to conduct an interview, questioning techniques, a list of sample questions and documents to ask for, and methods of documentation preservation
• Other Ways to Get Information
• Preparing Witness Statements, Getting Them Out and Returned
• Analyzing the Information—including the importance of sticking to the issue(s), assessing credibility, and real case examples
• Writing the Conclusion or Report—including a sample report
• Post Report Activity—including what to do if inquiry findings are inconclusive
• Pitfalls—including a list of the most commonly asked questions during an inquiry and other common problems encountered during an inquiry with sample answers and solutions
• How the Management Inquiry Will Be Used—including third parties that may review inquiry findings and reports
• Appendices—including United States Mint-Wide Policy Memorandum HR-39, Management Inquiries, United States Mint-Wide Policy Memorandum, Administrative Investigations, and USPS Publication 522, Manager’s Guide to Understanding Sexual Harassment

Also included is a detailed table of contents.

Available as a softcover book and/or a PDF file with many useful features delivered on a CD-ROM, USB Flash Drive, or download. Hyperlinks allow the reader to move quickly between the Table of Contents and the corresponding portions of the text. Internal hyperlinks serve as a cross-reference feature within the text.

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