Q: My direct report and I have been asked to testify as witnesses for a lawsuit involving our employer. What do we need to know about the interviews?

A: Some employers may have policies where they provide regular hourly wages to an employee if they are called to testify or work with an attorney in a claim. This typically is applicable only if you are requesting their presence. However, employers need to be careful about how such policies are administered to avoid the appearance of retaliation for people who may be called by the opposing party or share unfavorable information. It is not uncommon for plaintiff attorneys to allege that existing current employees were not fully honest in their statements due to the fear of retaliation. So as an employer, you want to minimize the potentiality of that claim being made. 

Your attorney will speak with you about conduct during deposition, witness preparation, trial, or any similar activity and will include discussions regarding proper attire and other variables. Do remember that if you are the witness, you should not be texting, passing notes to the attorney or engaging in similar conduct as that could be considered inappropriate coaching by the attorney.

Related Resource: HR – The Witness Interview