Promoting and enhancing the quality of impartial workplace investigations.™
Credit Available - See Credits tab below.
Total Credits: 6.75 including 6.75 HRCI Credits, 6.75 SHRM, 6.75 CA MCLE
Program Description
This popular, fast-paced program is designed to introduce the participants to the theory and the practical skills necessary to conduct impartial investigations of allegations of employee misconduct.
Learning Objectives
Among other things, participants will learn how to:
Completion Criteria for Credits
AWI is an approved provider of the following continuing education credits:
To earn any or all of these certificates for the Basics On-Demand, you must view all eight (8) Modules in their entirety.
How to Submit Continuing Legal Education Credits by State in the U.S.A.
To find out how to report (M)CLE in a specific state, AWI recommends reviewing the requirements and guidelines on your State Bar or Continuing Legal Education website. These resources may provide guidance on how to submit documentation for attorney-reported credit.
If you are unable to find information on how to submit documentation for CLE to your specific state, please contact office@awi.org or +1 (844) 422-2294.
Disclaimer:
The contents of this program and the positions taken may be time-sensitive and are not intended to provide legal advice.
HR (General) Credits: 6.75
SHRM PDCs: 6.75
California MCLEs: 6.75
| AWI Guiding Principles (820 KB) | 4 Pages | Available after Purchase |
| Investigation Basics Seminar Supplemental Resources (11 MB) | 115 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Britt-Marie Cole-Johnson, AWI-CH a partner in Robinson+Cole's Labor and Employment Group, counsels boards of directors, senior management, and human resources professionals in all areas of employment law, with a focus on sensitive, high-risk personnel issues, workplace investigations, compliance, training, and U.S. market entry initiatives for international organizations. She represents a wide array of employers, ranging from Fortune 500 Companies and publicly-traded companies to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and manufacturers. Britt-Marie has been ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the state of Connecticut in the area of Labor & Employment since 2014 and in Connecticut Super Lawyers® since 2013. Most recently, she was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the areas of Employment Law - Individuals and Employment Law - Management for 2024. Britt-Marie is a trained workplace investigator, and regularly serves as a speaker for the Association of Workplace Investigators. Robinson+Cole is an Am Law 200 firm serving regional, national, and international clients from 14 offices throughout the Northeast, Florida, and California.
Eli Makus, AWI-CH is an employment attorney whose practice is focused on conducting impartial workplace investigations. Eli is the Managing Partner of Van Dermyden Makus Law Corporation. With more than twenty attorneys, Van Dermyden Makus is one of the largest law firms in the country devoted to providing neutral legal services, including conducting workplace investigations. Drawing upon his extensive employment law background, Eli conducts complex and sensitive investigations involving a variety of workplace complaints for public and private employers throughout California. Eli regularly trains on employment law topics, including training internal and external investigators on how to conduct impartial workplace investigations. Prior to focusing on workplace investigations, Eli served as in-house employment and medical staff counsel for a large healthcare provider. There, in addition to providing employment law advice and counsel, he conducted and supervised investigations and helped develop an internal investigations program. Before that, he worked for a large Northern California law firm representing employers in a variety of employment law matters. Eli is the President for the AWI Board of Directors and regularly serves as Faculty for AWI’s Training Institute. Eli earned his law degree from King Hall School of Law at the University of California, Davis.
Oliver McKinstry, AWI-CH is Vice President of People Services at DaVita, a Fortune 200 healthcare company. He leads DaVita’s People Services investigators, who conduct approximately 1,000 investigations a year into allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other serious policy violations. Oliver also conducts investigations of similar allegations against high level and executive leaders. Oliver has streamlined DaVita’s investigation process, standardized the team’s investigative reports, implemented an appeals process, and created and implemented a process for addressing threats of workplace violence. Oliver also leads several other People Services functions for DaVita, including Employee Relations, Onboarding, HR Policy, Wage and Hour, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Unemployment. Prior to joining DaVita, Oliver was a workplace investigator at Lockheed Martin, where he investigated a variety of allegations from discrimination and harassment to workplace violence and time charging practices. Before becoming an internal investigator, Oliver conducted workplace investigations as a lawyer at Littler Mendelson in Denver, CO, and at Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis, MN. Throughout his career, Oliver has dedicated himself to making the legal and workplace investigations professions more inclusive. He previously served as the President of the Colorado LGBT Bar Association and has volunteered in several roles with AWI, including the Board of Directors (he is the incoming Vice President), the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Organizational Membership Task Force, and the Conference Committee. Oliver is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, where he studied Communication Studies and French. After college, he taught English in rural Japan on the island of Shikoku. He attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, in Philadelphia, PA.
Reuben Mjaanes, AWI-CH, is a Senior Legal Director at Medtronic, Inc., where he has served as in-house counsel in Medtronic's Employment Law Group since 2006. In his role at Medtronic, Reuben provides advice and counsel to Human Resources (HR), Employee Relations (ER) and Managers on a wide range of employment related issues. He also conducts training for HR, ER and Medtronic managers and employees on employment related topics, respect in the workplace, performance management and investigations. Reuben coordinates Medtronic's Employment Law Group's workplace investigation process and team. Prior to joining Medtronic, Reuben was a partner at the Minneapolis, MN law firm of Lindquist & Vennum where he worked in the Employment Law area (handling litigation and advice and counseling). While at Lindquist & Vennum, Reuben was named a Minnesota Lawyer Rising Star. Reuben is a current AWI Board Member and has served as part and full-time faculty at AWI Institutes since 2017. Reuben is a Madison, WI native and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Reuben taught for three years before attending law school.
Vida Thomas, AWI-CH has conducted well over 200 workplace investigations and is experienced in complying with Title IX, Title 5, the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights, and the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights. She has considerable experience investigating matters within a union setting and is particularly adept at investigating complex matters involving high-profile employers and individuals. Vida frequently trains attorneys and human resources professionals on how to conduct legally effective workplace investigations. Vida has practiced employment law for more than two decades, with years of experience in advising employers on all aspects of employment law and human resources management. She also serves as an expert witness in state and federal employment lawsuits, and mediates litigation and non-litigation matters. Vida assists parties and attorneys in resolving employment claims, including but not limited to harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims; wrongful termination claims; failure to accommodate and statutory leave violations; whistleblowing claims; wage and hour violations; and invasion of privacy claims. Vida also routinely conducts sexual harassment prevention training (including AB1825 compliance training) for state agencies and private companies. She teaches human resources professionals and EEO officers how to conduct effective workplace investigations, and teaches managers and supervisors how to implement legally effective performance reviews. Clients have complimented Vida’s knack for making the law accessible, explaining complex legal concepts in a way that is both thorough and easy to understand. She believes training is most effective when it provides concrete, useful tips for navigating today’s complicated and highly regulated workplace. She has advised clients and conducted dozens of seminars on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, employee drug testing and sexual harassment investigations. Before joining the Oppenheimer Investigations Group, Vida was an of counsel attorney with Stoel Rives LLP and Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation. She began her legal career as an employment litigator at Kronick Moskovitz and then co-founded Carlsen Thomas, LLP, a boutique employment law firm that offered workplace investigations and employee training throughout
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Module 1A - Basic Principles, Competence, & Planning
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Module 1B - Cultural Competence & Bias
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Module 1C - Investigation Planning
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Module 2A - Evidence & Interviewing Considerations
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Module 2B - Interviewing Techniques
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Module 2C: Credibility
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Module 3A - Report Writing
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Module 3B - Development of Findings
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