# How Should an Employer Conduct a Workplace Investigation in Alberta?

> In Alberta, employers must follow pre-established procedures under Part 27 of the Occupational Health and Safety Code to investigate workplace violence and harassment complaints: check whether the conduct meets the statutory definition, investigate promptly, give the person accused a genuine chance to respond, document findings in a written report kept at least two years, and inform both parties of the outcome and any corrective action.

Published 2026-08-11 · Last reviewed 2026-08-11 · [Canonical page](https://canadalegalcenter.ca/articles/how-should-an-employer-conduct-a-workplace-investigation-in-alberta/)

Legal information, not legal advice.

## Steps in an Alberta workplace investigation

1. **Check whether the conduct meets the statutory definition.**
2. **Follow the employer's pre-established procedure, not an ad hoc process.**
3. **Apply the OHS Act's serious-incident rules where the incident is serious.**
4. **Give the person accused notice of the allegations and a genuine chance to respond.**
5. **Document the investigation in a written report.**
6. **Communicate the outcome and take corrective action.**
7. **Retain the report and be ready to produce it to Alberta OHS.**

Before starting an investigation, an Alberta employer should already have a violence and harassment prevention plan in place that builds in [procedures for reporting, investigating and documenting complaints and incidents](https://search-ohs-laws.alberta.ca/legislation/occupational-health-and-safety-code/part-27-violence-and-harassment/). Part 27 of the Occupational Health and Safety Code treats these procedures as something the employer sets up in advance, not something improvised once a complaint lands.

## Step 1: Check whether the conduct meets the statutory definition

Not every interpersonal conflict is "harassment" in the legal sense. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, workplace harassment covers objectionable or unwelcome conduct, comment, bullying, or action, but it [does not include reasonable conduct of an employer or supervisor in respect of managing workers or a work site](https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence). A performance review or a reasonable direction to redo work is not harassment merely because the employee found it unwelcome. The first task in any investigation is sorting out which category the complaint actually falls into, because that determines whether Part 27's investigation duties are even engaged.

This step also has to catch discriminatory conduct. Racist remarks or other offensive comments are [captured within the OHS Act's harassment definition and addressed as a workplace hazard](https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/3555911a-ed16-42f2-8be9-91e14f426ce0/resource/f7a0298a-977a-4f88-b1bc-89273089bf95/download/lbr-discriminatory-action-complaints-2020-06.pdf), separately from any complaint the worker might also bring under the Alberta Human Rights Act. An OHS investigation and a human rights complaint can run on parallel tracks over the same facts.

## Step 2: Follow the employer's pre-established procedure

Part 27 requires the prevention plan to build in [procedures for reporting, investigating and documenting](https://search-ohs-laws.alberta.ca/legislation/occupational-health-and-safety-code/part-27-violence-and-harassment/) complaints and incidents. That means the investigation should follow whatever process the employer's own plan sets out (who receives complaints, who investigates, what gets documented) rather than being invented on the spot once a complaint arrives.

## Step 3: Apply the serious-incident reporting rules where relevant

The general Occupational Health and Safety Act rules on reporting and investigating serious incidents are [expressly extended to incidents of workplace violence or harassment](https://search-ohs-laws.alberta.ca/legislation/occupational-health-and-safety-code/part-27-violence-and-harassment/) under sections 33 and 36 of the Act. Where an incident is serious enough to trigger those provisions, the employer's investigation obligations run alongside, not instead of, the ordinary OHS incident-reporting process.

## Step 4: Give the accused person notice and a chance to respond

Fairness is not optional decoration; it is the standard an arbitrator will apply if the investigation is later challenged. In a 2023 Alberta grievance arbitration, the arbitrator upheld an investigation specifically because [the grievor knew the nature of the allegations against her and was generally able to respond to them](https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abgaa/doc/2023/2023canlii37831/2023canlii37831.html), even though the process had flaws. The same decision confirms that [the workplace investigation was not perfect, but perfection is not the standard](https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abgaa/doc/2023/2023canlii37831/2023canlii37831.html). The bar is reasonableness: the person under investigation needs enough information to meaningfully respond, not a flawless process.

## Step 5: Document the investigation in a written report

Once the investigation concludes, the employer must [prepare an investigation report outlining the circumstances of the incident and any corrective action taken to prevent a recurrence](https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence). A verbal conclusion is not enough; the finding, the reasoning, and the corrective action all need to be captured in writing.

## Step 6: Communicate the outcome and take corrective action

The prevention plan must permit disclosure of otherwise confidential information where necessary to [investigate the complaint, take corrective action, or inform the parties involved of the results of the investigation and of any corrective action to be taken](https://search-ohs-laws.alberta.ca/legislation/occupational-health-and-safety-code/part-27-violence-and-harassment/). This is also where the investigation connects back to the employer's underlying duty: employers must, [as far as reasonably practicable, ensure that no worker is subjected to or participates in harassment or violence at the work site](https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence). The investigation is not an end in itself; it exists to support that duty, so a finding without follow-through does not satisfy it.

## Step 7: Retain the report and produce it to OHS on request

Employers must [retain the investigation report for at least two years after the incident, keep it readily available, and provide a copy to Alberta OHS on request](https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence). This retention obligation exists independently of whether the complaint results in discipline, a grievance, or no further action at all.

## A worked example

A warehouse supervisor in an Alberta workplace receives a written complaint that a coworker made repeated offensive comments about a colleague's ethnicity. The employer first checks the definition step: because this is targeted, unwelcome conduct rather than ordinary management direction, it falls within the OHS Act's harassment definition and is also potentially a human rights matter. Following its own Part 27 procedure, the employer assigns an investigator, who interviews the complainant and the accused, giving the accused the specific comments alleged and a chance to respond before any conclusion is drawn. The investigator writes up findings and recommended corrective action, the employer informs both parties of the outcome, and the report is filed and retained for at least two years in case Alberta OHS asks for it.

## Common mistakes

- **Treating every complaint as automatically "harassment."** The OHS Act's definition excludes reasonable management conduct, so an investigation that skips this threshold question can misclassify ordinary supervision as harassment or vice versa.
- **Investigating without a pre-established procedure.** Part 27 expects the reporting, investigating, and documenting process to already exist in the prevention plan; building it from scratch after a complaint arrives undermines consistency.
- **Reaching a conclusion before the accused has responded.** Arbitral review turns on whether the person under investigation knew the allegations and had a genuine chance to answer them; skipping that step weakens the finding even if the substantive conclusion turns out to be correct.
- **Treating the report as optional or verbal.** The retention and production duty attaches to a written investigation report, not to a manager's recollection of what was decided.
- **Assuming a human rights complaint replaces the OHS process.** Discriminatory conduct is addressed as a workplace hazard under the OHS Act regardless of whether the worker separately pursues a human rights complaint; one does not substitute for the other.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does an Alberta employer have to hire an outside investigator?**

The sources reviewed do not identify any Alberta legislation that requires an external investigator. The Occupational Health and Safety Code requires the employer to have pre-established investigation procedures, but does not specify who must carry them out.

**How long does an Alberta employer have to keep the investigation report?**

At least two years after the incident. The employer must keep the report readily available and produce a copy to Alberta OHS on request, per the [Alberta.ca guidance](https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence).

**Is a racist comment handled as harassment or as a human rights complaint in Alberta?**

It can be both. Discriminatory conduct such as racism is captured within the OHS Act's harassment definition and is addressed as a workplace hazard through the investigation process, separately from any complaint the worker might also bring under the Alberta Human Rights Act.

**Does the investigation have to be perfect to hold up later?**

No. An Alberta arbitrator reviewing an internal investigation applies a reasonableness standard, not a perfection standard, so long as the person investigated knew the allegations against them and had a genuine chance to respond.


## Sources

1. [Alberta OHS Legislation Portal – Part 27, Violence and Harassment](https://search-ohs-laws.alberta.ca/legislation/occupational-health-and-safety-code/part-27-violence-and-harassment/), Occupational Health and Safety Code (Alberta), Part 27, s 390(1)(f) (retrieved 2026-07-17)
2. [Alberta.ca – Workplace violence and harassment](https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence), Occupational Health and Safety Act, SA 2017, c O-2.1, s 33 (as applied via OHS Code Part 27) (retrieved 2026-07-17)
3. [Government of Alberta – Discriminatory action complaints (LBR publication)](https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/3555911a-ed16-42f2-8be9-91e14f426ce0/resource/f7a0298a-977a-4f88-b1bc-89273089bf95/download/lbr-discriminatory-action-complaints-2020-06.pdf), Occupational Health and Safety Act, SA 2017, c O-2.1 (harassment definition); Alberta Human Rights Act, RSA 2000, c A-25.5 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
4. [CanLII – Health Sciences Association of Alberta v Alberta Health Services](https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abgaa/doc/2023/2023canlii37831/2023canlii37831.html), Health Sciences Association of Alberta v Alberta Health Services, 2023 CanLII 37831 (AB GAA), para 97