Investigation

Investigation Bio

Claudia Viera began conducting investigations of harassment, discrimination and other workplace claims in 1998.  She has worked in both union and non-union workplaces. Ms. Viera conducts investigations in Spanish which make her especially useful in investigations of a cross-cultural nature.

Ms. Viera has investigated claims involving high-level corporate executives, CEOs, mid-level managers and line employees. Allegations included sexual harassment, racial harassment/discrimination, retaliation, national origin discrimination and other misconduct.

She developed employment law expertise as an attorney at Littler Mendelson, where she also taught Human Resource professionals to conduct lawful investigations, using live actors.  She currently conducts 1-on-1 training for executives and managers after accusations of harassment. 

When Ms. Viera practiced employment law at Littler Mendelson, she dealt with a variety of labor and employment issues, including disputes arising under Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disability Act, wage and hour laws, employment contracts and a variety of California state statutes.  She worked with Fortune 500 companies in both state and federal court.  Ms. Viera has also trained thousands of managers and employees nationwide on harassment prevention and other employment law topics. 

After leaving Littler Mendelson in 2004, Ms. Viera represented plaintiffs in cases of sexual harassment. She has experience representing both sides in employment litigation which gives her a more balanced perspective as a neutral fact-finder during investigations.

Ms. Viera recently presented at the Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) Annual Conference:

• The Psychology of Bias: Understanding & Eliminating Bias in Investigations

Ms. Viera has published various articles on employment investigations and mediation, including Internal Disciplinary Investigations: Weingarten Rights in Union - and Non-Union – Workplaces.