Promoting and enhancing the quality of impartial workplace investigations.™
Credit Available - See Credits tab below.
Total Credits: 1.0 HRCI Credits, 1.0 SHRM, 1.0 CA MCLE
Session Description:
In this presentation, Kate Svinarich, Employment Attorney, will discuss the clear and convincing evidence investigative standard and when, why and how workplace investigators might apply it.
Among other things, this session will cover:
Learning Objectives:
Participants will receive instruction on the following learning objectives throughout the presentation:
Disclaimer:
The contents of this webinar and the positions taken are those of the presenter only, may be time-sensitive, and are not warranted, endorsed or otherwise recommended by AWI and are not intended to provide legal advice.
HR (General) Credits: 1.0
SHRM PDCs: 1.0
California MCLEs: 1.0
Kate Svinarich is an associate in the Denver office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Labor & Employment Practice. Kate is an experienced employment attorney licensed in California and Colorado. Kate has represented employers in a broad range of matters, including discrimination, disability accommodation and wage and hour cases, appearing in state and federal court and administrative proceedings. Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Kate dedicated her practice to conducting workplace investigations for public and private employers covering a broad range of employment-related complaints and alleged misconduct involving all levels of employees, including executives and senior management. Kate’s workplace investigation experience provides her with valuable insights on defending employment claims, as well as advising clients on employment best practices.
Amy Duerk specializes in highly sensitive and complex internal investigations and is an Association of Workplace Investigators Certificate Holder (AWI-CH). She follows the highest standards of excellence to perform neutral, thorough, and trauma-informed investigations across all industries. Amy has investigated claims of sex- and race-based harassment and discrimination, assault, retaliation, conflict of interest, breach of fiduciary duty, bullying, embezzlement, and fraud.
Prior to focusing on investigations, Amy defended corporations in civil litigation matters including employment, fraud, antitrust, multidistrict class action, legal malpractice, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, product liability, and contract disputes. As a litigator, she represented both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal trial and appellate courts.
Amy’s clients have included Fortune 500 companies, including companies in the technology, energy, media and entertainment, gaming, and insurance industries, as well as law firms, non-profit organizations, and individuals.
Amy is licensed to practice in California and Montana, and she is admitted to the U.S. District Courts of California and Montana as well as the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
She currently serves on the board of a local food security nonprofit organization, Garden City Harvest.
Carson Sprott is the Principal Investigator in the Office of the President, University of California. He supports a university system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three affiliated national laboratories, and a statewide agriculture and natural resources program. The UC system has more than 285,000 students, 227,000 faculty and staff, an operating budget of $39.8 billion, and two million living alumni. Sprott also serves on the UC Non-Discrimination Committee.
Sprott has been on the proverbial “front lines” of workplace investigation over two decades. Since 1998, Sprott has worked in the private sector as well as the state and federal government, serving as both an internal and external investigator. Sprott is the author of “Competitive and Fair: The Case for Exporting Stronger Extraterritorial Labor and Employment Protection,” published in 2010. Sprott has been with AWI since 2020 and has been an AWI-CH since 2022.
As an active-duty Air Force JAG officer, in addition to investigations, Sprott took over 70 courts-martial to verdict, both as a federal prosecutor and public defender. For his efforts, Sprott was awarded an Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, an Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and an Air Force Achievement Medal.
From 2016 to 2017, Sprott deployed to just outside Mosul, Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. There, in addition to supporting 2300 missions and six combat units, Sprott rapidly identified, investigated, and coordinated the legal response to potential Geneva Convention violations. For this, he received the personal gratitude of the United States Ambassador to Iraq and Acting Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. In addition, he received an Air Force Commendation Medal for humanitarian support and expediting the liberation of 1.2M citizens of Iraq. In 2017, he was selected both as the Expeditionary Center’s and the Air Mobility Command’s Kuhfeld Award winner as the Outstanding Judge Advocate. In the reserves since 2020, Sprott was recalled to active duty in the summer of 2022 to support the uptick in operations related to the conflict in Europe.
In his spare time, Sprott currently serves in the Air National Guard where he manages all public defender offices in the Ninth Circuit and is also a member of the congressionally mandated Defense Counsel Assistance Program. Sprott also coaches youth rugby and flag football in the small east Bay Area town in which he resides. Sprott is the vice chair of his city’s Diversity Commission and serves as the Diversity Liaison to the Education Commission.