Many laws in the area of employee relations effectively require employers to undertake investigations in order to meet their obligations under the laws. The general duty of any employer who either knows or should know about a discrimination, harassment, threat, or safety problem faced by an employee is to take prompt and effective remedial action to put an end to the problem. In order to know what action to take, or to find out whether action is even necessary, the employer has to investigate the situation and ascertain the facts. Employers that fail to investigate such situations usually lose any claims or lawsuits brought by the employee in response to the problem.

Some of the more important laws and legal situations that require investigations by employers are:

• job discrimination laws – Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the ADA, the ADEA, and their state equivalent, the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act

• health and safety laws – OSHA – employers must investigate problems and prevent future similar problems; prevention of workplace violence – employers have a duty to investigate threats and prevent acts of violence in the workplace to the extent possible

• drug-free workplace laws – Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988; DOT drug testing regulations

• background and credit checks – in order to minimize liability for negligent hiring or negligent retention, employers must sometimes investigate employees' backgrounds – Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements apply