The court ruled that the HR employee was within her rights when she engaged in protected activity as permitted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the case, Gogel v Kia Motors Manufacturing of Georgia.
"...The Court focused upon the allegations that the employer 'forbade' Gogel--the HR representative--from investigating a complaint made by an employee, Diana Ledbetter, and generally ignored other complaints of discrimination made by Ledbetter, other Kia employees, and Gogel herself," The National Law Review reports.
Gogel's employer allegedly fired her after learning that she and Ledbetter were represented by the same lawyer. The employer believed that Gogel had 'encouraged or even solicited [Ledbetter's] filing of the charge' and 'at the very least, there [was] an appearance of a conflict of interest.'"
The court ruled that Gogel tried to deal with the allegations internally, but that her employer's procedures were inadequate.
"This decision serves as an important reminder of the importance for companies to effectively implement and follow their investigation and complaint resolution procedures," The National Law Review notes.