What do you do if your reporting party does not use magic words? For example, they do not say things like “harassment,” “discrimination,” “hostile work environment,” or “disparate treatment”? Sometimes even the employer misunderstands that they do not need to investigate because their reporting party has not used magic words or misused them. The employer’s investigative duties are triggered regardless of the sophistication of the reporting party. Sometimes this obligation means investigating to determine the report’s credibility. When you become the investigator, identifying and regarding complaints becomes your obligation.
