Anonymous Complaints: Disregard Or Dig Deep?

(Published July 15, 2009)

Reprinted from MANAGER'S LEGAL BULLETIN, a widely read employment law newsletter that communicates legal guidelines to managers through scenarios based on real-life cases. Click here to view a sample issue, get more information, or sign up for a risk-free subscription.

What would you do if you received an anonymous complaint about an employee who's supposedly engaged in wrongdoing?  Do you ignore it, or do you investigate?  The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, depending on the nature of the complaint and whether you have enough details to act.

From Out Of The Shadows…

The phone rang in manager Rachel Abbott's office.

"This is Rachel Abbott in Accounting. How may I help you?" Silence. "Hello?" she queried again.

Suddenly, a male voice answered in a hushed tone, "Bernie Lymon is a thief."

"Excuse me?" asked Abbott, surprised and confused. Lymon was a staff accountant who had worked at the company for nearly 30 years. "Who is this?"

"Never mind that," answered the mysterious voice. "I'm not your problem — Bernie is. He should get the boot."

"Well, I'll need to know some more details first," Abbott said as she grabbed a pen and paper and started taking notes.

"Why?" asked the caller, a little louder.

"I need to get as much information as possible in order to launch a thorough investigation," responded Abbott. "Or else I'll just have to dismiss this as a crank call, won't I?"

"Oh, well, I…" the caller hesitated. "Okay. Look on Bernie's company laptop. In a file marked ‘Miscellaneous Expenses,' you'll find over $20,000 he's pulled out of customers' accounts and put into his own bank account."

While writing every detail down, Abbott commented, "That's a very serious charge. Can you tell me how you learned about this?"

Abbott continued drawing information from the caller little by little, and, after explaining the company's anti-retaliation policy, eventually got him to identify himself as an employee in the Tech department. She immediately brought her documentation to the HR manager, who spoke to the Tech informant himself before launching a secret investigation that yielded proof of embezzlement. At that point, all evidence was turned over to the police.

…Into The Light Of Day

Abbott was smart in how she dealt with the anonymous caller. She took the opportunity to ask questions, press for supporting evidence, and even got the caller to identify himself.

If you receive an anonymous phone complaint:

• Get the caller to open up by informing him/her that in order to resolve the issue, you need to get as much information as possible.
  
  
• Don't get sidetracked by trying to learn the caller's identity — your main goal should be gathering details about the complaint itself. Inform the caller that you are not able to guarantee absolute confidentiality, but that you will only divulge information on a need-to-know basis. Also, explain the company's anti-retaliation policies, if the caller is an employee; no adverse employment action will be taken against him/her in response to a complaint that has been made in good faith.
  
  
• Document the call in detail, noting the time and date and duration of the call and as many direct quotes as you can take down. And, of course, document any actions you take in response to the complaint. The HR department will need your documentation if they decide to investigate, and legal counsel will definitely need it if charges are brought.

Judgment Call

So do all anonymous complaints warrant a full investigation? Not necessarily. Evaluate the nature of the complaint. Unless company policy mandates that you bring all complaints to the attention of the HR department, ask yourself what would happen if you did not act on it. You might be able to ignore anonymous complaints that are:

• little more than "tattling" (e.g., "Bernie spends a lot of time on personal phone calls");
  
  
• gossip about non-work matters (e.g., "Bernie is cheating on his wife with the new girl in Sales");
  
  
• complaints that are rooted in personality conflicts (e.g., "Bernie is giving me the cold shoulder").

For complaints such as this, keep your eyes and ears open for issues that require your attention. For example, Bernie's alleged affair is none of your business, but if they are engaging in inappropriate public displays of affection in the workplace, it is your business to put a stop to the on-the-job behavior.

If the complaint is serious and has substance, inform HR. Provide any of your own observations or opinions that could help HR determine whether a full investigation is warranted.

If there are allegations of a crime (e.g., embezzlement), contact HR immediately. They can consult with legal counsel, if necessary, to determine the best course of action.