MCLE Self-Study: WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS ARE MOVING HOME

By Deborah Maddux

Deborah Maddux is the Senior Managing Partner of Van Dermyden Maddux Law Corporation. Deborah’s practice focuses on conducting and overseeing workplace investigations and conducting administrative hearings. Her background includes serving as in-house counsel to the University of California, counsel to the California FPPC, and litigation counsel. Deborah is the incoming Chair of the Labor & Employment Executive Committee.

CHANGING WORKPLACE

The rapid shift to remote work in response to COVID-19 changed the workplace overnight, and the shift to remote work appears poised to outlast the pandemic. How we will all be working over the coming months and even years is unclear. According to a recent Gallup poll, approximately 62% of employed Americans have worked from home during the crisis. And, according to the same poll, three in five workers who have been doing their jobs from home during the coronavirus pandemic would prefer to continue to work remotely as much as possible, even after public health restrictions are lifted.¹ Many employers are likewise embracing the trend. Countless headlines describe employers being open to remote work beyond the risks posed by the coronavirus.²