California employers are no strangers to workplace investigations. For example, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which protects employees from harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace, imposes an obligation on employers to conduct timely, thorough, and impartial investigations when complaints of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation arise. The public policy behind this mandate, in part, is to afford employers an opportunity to identify and correct certain behavior in the workplace before it rises to the level of a violation of FEHA. A properly done investigation can help minimize liability for employers and serve to protect employees from unlawful conduct and employment actions. In short, effective investigations serve the interests of both the employer and the employee.