Tricky Issues

Be prepared to handle tricky issues that might pop up in certain situations.

• Recording interviews. Should you record the interviews? What if the witness wishes to record the interview?
• Attorneys. What if the witness wants to have his or her attorney present for the interview? What if the witness wishes to have some other third party present? What if it is a union environment?
• Nonemployee interviews. How should you treat the witness differently if he or she is not an employee?
• Requiring the cooperation of employees. What if the employee refuses to answer questions? What if the uncooperative witness is also the alleged victim?
• Privacy considerations. What if the events at issue took place outside the workplace? Where does the organization's legitimate interest end and the witness's zone of privacy begin?

The above issues are some of the more important issues that auditors will face in any significant investigation that involves witness interviews. The auditor can anticipate many of these issues and plan accordingly. Witness explanations of documents can be every bit as important to an auditor's investigation as the documents themselves, and the successful auditor will master both.

John D. Thompson, a nationally recognized expert in the area of corporate security, legal risks and employment law, has served as a consultant on workplace violence, legal issues training, litigation services and related security problems to numerous Fortune 500 and smaller companies, as well as federal, state and local governments. He currently practices law with Minneapolis-based firm Oberman Thompson & Segal, LLC. Thompson is a content expert faculty member with the Security Executive Council founded by CSO magazine, and is the author of a series of books guiding nonsecurity professionals through misconduct investigations. For more information about the Security Executive Council or Thompson's book series, please visit www.csoexecutivecouncil.com/misconduct.