RIGHTS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: THE FOUNDATION OF INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

ii Public and private sector organizations are all required, at some point, to investigate and resolve complaints regarding misconduct and other behavioral issues. The success or failure of these efforts will depend on the organization’s ability to conduct effective and appropriate internal investigations. Fire departments are often ill-equipped to handle the legal issues involved. The purpose of this research was to define both the organization’s and the employee’s rights and responsibilities during the course of an internal investigation. The evaluative research method was chosen to answer the following research questions: 1. What circumstances would require an organization to initiate an investigation? 2. What are an employee’s rights in the course of the investigation? 3. What are the employee’s obligations in the course of the investigation? 4. Are the results of the internal investigation accessible to the employee? A literature review was conducted to discover the legal and resulting procedural issues involved. Three courses relating to the subject were attended, and three subject matter experts were interviewe