Introduction & Context

Even tiny startups encounter misconduct or serious behavioral issues — how you respond can prevent legal risk and cultural damage. This section sets practical expectations for founders, people ops, and small in‑house legal teams: prioritize safety, stabilize the situation, preserve evidence, and follow a lightweight, defensible, step‑by‑step process. The guide is practical (not jurisdiction‑specific); involve counsel for allegations that suggest criminal conduct, senior‑leader involvement, repeated patterns, or regulatory exposure.

• Act quickly: acknowledge the report, separate parties if needed, and secure records.
• Preserve evidence: collect Slack, email, calendar, and device data; take intake notes immediately.
• Escalate when necessary: consult counsel for high‑risk matters or where leadership is implicated.

For practical policies and templates, see the employee handbook template and our employment‑law guide.

TL;DR — 8-Step Investigation Checklist

Use this rapid checklist when misconduct is reported. Each item lists the core action, typical lead, and a rule‑of‑thumb timeline.

1. Capture complaint & stabilize — manager/HR: same day (safety, separate parties, stop bleeding).
2. Triage: formal or informal? — HR (+counsel if high‑risk): 24–48 hrs.
3. Assign lead & involve counsel — HR or external investigator; counsel for senior‑leadership or criminal flags.
4. Preserve evidence — IT/HR: immediate (Slack, email, calendars, devices).
5. Plan — lead: scope, witness list, timeline, evidence log: 48–72 hrs.
6. Interview — order: complainant, witnesses, subject; neutral questioning, contemporaneous notes.
7. Analyze & decide — lead+HR(+counsel): document findings and rationale, proportional remedies.
8. Communicate & follow up — written outcome, monitor retaliation, implement fixes.

Avoid common pitfalls — delaying action, inconsistent treatment, over‑sharing, or promising absolute confidentiality. For related guidance and templates see the employee handbook guide: https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/building-an-effective-employee-handbook-a-guide-for-startups/ and managing underperformance: https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/managing-employee-underperformance-in-startups/.

When to Treat an Issue as a Formal Investigation

Treat matters as formal investigations when they present safety, legal, or systemic risk. Triggers include harassment or discrimination, physical‑safety threats, fraud/theft, suspected criminal conduct, senior‑leader involvement, repeated patterns across teams, or clear policy/regulatory breaches.

Triage — answer these yes/no questions; any “yes” → formal:

• Is someone’s safety or employment status at risk?
• Does the report involve a protected characteristic (e.g., race, gender)?
• Is there potential criminality, fraud, or theft?
• Is a senior leader implicated or multiple teams affected?
• Is there evidence of a repeated pattern or previous complaints?

Examples: a single insulting Slack message may justify manager coaching; repeated harassment across teams or theft of funds requires a formal probe. HR/People Ops should triage and involve counsel for high‑risk or leadership cases. See employment guidance: https://promise.legal/startup-legal-guide/compliance/employment-law and handbook template: https://promise.legal/templates/employee-handbook.

Lean Investigation Framework — Roles, Scope, Documentation

For startups with under 50 people, adopt a lightweight but defensible process: clear roles, a narrow scope, and focused documentation.

• Roles: HR/People Ops — investigation lead for routine matters; in‑house or external counsel — legal risk, privilege; founders — set priorities and resourcing but avoid direct interviews if implicated.
• Scope & objective: determine facts, protect safety, and recommend proportional remedies; limit dates, teams, and issues to what’s relevant.
• Timeline: same‑day triage; plan within 48–72 hours; small probes complete in 1–2 weeks, complex matters 2–4 weeks.
• Documentation: intake note, investigation plan, evidence log (source, timestamp, custodian), contemporaneous interview notes, and a concise findings memo with rationale. Mark materials privileged when counsel is involved and store securely.

Starter templates and policies: https://promise.legal/templates/employee-handbook and https://promise.legal/startup-legal-guide.

Interview Best Practices — Complainant, Witnesses, and Subject

Interviews are fact‑finding: stay neutral, document, and protect the complainant from retaliation. Order: complainant, key witnesses, subject.

• Ground rules: explain purpose, confidentiality limits, and note‑taking; no retaliation; support person allowed; ask before recording.
• Questioning: start open‑ended (e.g., “Tell me what happened”), avoid leading or compound questions, stick to facts and timelines, and request contemporaneous records.
• Documentation: take contemporaneous notes; record direct quotes; update the evidence log with attachments and timestamps (Slack, email, screenshots); date/sign notes and store securely.
• Counsel & escalation: involve counsel for senior‑leader, criminal, or complex claims; if the subject is represented, consult counsel before proceeding with the subject interview.

Interviewer must remain neutral, avoid judgmental language, and avoid promising outcomes. Use a consistent interview template and plan brief follow‑ups as needed.

Sample intro: “I’m [name], conducting a neutral investigation into [issue]. I’ll take notes. You may have a support person. We will protect confidentiality where possible but cannot promise absolute secrecy.” See the startup investigation guide: https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/conducting-employee-misconduct-investigations-a-startups-practical-guide/.

Confidentiality, Data Handling, and Privacy Considerations

Confidentiality in investigations is practical: limit access, log who views materials, and avoid promising absolute secrecy. Create a named need‑to‑know list (HR lead, investigator, counsel), label files “INVESTIGATION — CONFIDENTIAL,” and retain an evidence log of exports.

• Counsel & privilege: involve counsel early; segregate and mark privileged communications.
• Recordings: ask consent before recording — many jurisdictions require all‑party consent; if recorded, store encrypted and note permission.
• Cross‑border: minimise international transfers, use approved transfer mechanisms, and run transfers past counsel or privacy lead.
• Preserve vs rights: issue legal holds to preserve evidence but consult before responding to deletion or access requests.

Practical privacy guidance: https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/the-importance-of-privacy-compliance-what-startups-need-to-know/

Roles and Accountability — HR, Counsel, and Leadership

Clear accountability keeps investigations efficient and defensible. Assign one investigation owner and define decision rights up front.

• HR/People Ops: lead intake and triage, preserve evidence, coordinate interviews, implement interim safety measures, document decisions and monitor retaliation.
• Counsel (in‑house or external): escalate for criminality, fraud, senior‑leader involvement, regulatory risk, or threatened litigation; manage privilege, legal holds, and review communications.
• Founders/Leadership: set priorities and resource investigations, protect investigator independence, and avoid direct involvement when implicated or conflicted.

Governance tips: prohibit shadow investigations (centralize ownership and logs), label privileged materials, store evidence securely, and keep outcome communications factual and limited. Starter resources: employee handbook template — https://promise.legal/templates/employee-handbook and employment guidance — https://promise.legal/startup-legal-guide/compliance/employment-law.

Pitfalls and Red Flags to Avoid

Common mistakes turn manageable reports into legal and cultural crises. Watch for these red flags and replace them with simple controls.

• Delaying action: loss of evidence and trust — triage same day and preserve data.
• Ignoring retaliation: take interim protections and monitor closely.
• Inconsistent discipline: apply policy uniformly to avoid claims of bias.
• Poor documentation: contemporaneous notes, an evidence log, and dated memos.
• Over‑sharing: restrict disclosure to a strict need‑to‑know list.
• Handling sensitive matters informally: escalate to counsel or an external investigator where appropriate.

Anonymized examples: A small startup waited a week and lost Slack threads — a legal hold and immediate export preserved key records. Another company treated a leader complaint informally; witnesses felt pressured — bringing in an external investigator and documenting steps restored trust.

See practical guidance and templates: https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/conducting-employee-misconduct-investigations-a-startups-practical-guide/ and https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/building-an-effective-employee-handbook-a-guide-for-startups/.

Policies, Handbooks, Templates, and Actionable Next Steps

Create a short, practical investigation policy and add it to your handbook. Include purpose and narrow scope; reporting channels and triage triggers; roles/decision rights; timelines (triage same day; plan 48–72 hrs; small probe 1–2 weeks); interim safety steps; confidentiality, privilege labeling, retention, non‑retaliation, and counsel escalation.

• Handbook integration: cross‑reference the reporting section, require employee acknowledgment, and schedule manager training.
• Starter templates: intake form (who/date/summary/attachments); evidence log (source/custodian/timestamp/exported‑by); interview outline & script; concise findings memo (facts, credibility, conclusion, remedy).

Weekly action plan: 1) draft policy; 2) add to handbook & collect acknowledgments; 3) build templates; 4) run a short manager training; 5) list counsel/external investigator contacts.

Resources: handbook guidance — https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/building-an-effective-employee-handbook-a-guide-for-startups/; investigation process — https://blog.promise.legal/startup-central/conducting-employee-misconduct-investigations-a-startups-practical-guide/.