Internal investigations outside of Title VII

By: David Ziemer, [email protected]//September 3, 2010//

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An employee’s participation in internal investigations is not protected activity under Title VII.

On Aug. 30, the Seventh Circuit joined four other circuits that limit Title VII’s “participation clause” to official investigations.

The participation clause prohibits retaliation against an employee who “has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under” Title VII.

The court concluded, “A purely internal investigation does not involve a ‘charge,’ or testimony, and neither is it a ‘proceeding’ or a ‘hearing.’ To bring an internal investigation within the scope of the clause we would have to rewrite the statute.”

Case: Hatmaker v. Memorial Medical Center, No. 09-3002

For a full analysis of the opinion, see the Sept. 6 issue of Wisconsin Law Journal.

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