Unlawful Firing Inquiries
in Nashville.
A dismissal produces two competing accounts. Watchtower builds an independent documented record of what actually surrounded it — for whichever side needs the facts to hold.
Both sides believe their version. The record decides.
Tennessee is an at-will employment state, which means an employer generally may dismiss for any reason or none. The exceptions are what generate litigation: dismissal for a protected characteristic, in retaliation for protected activity, in breach of contract, or contrary to public policy.
Nashville's employment base — healthcare systems, hospitality, music and entertainment, and a large professional services sector — produces a steady volume of these disputes. We are engaged by both employers and employees, and the work is the same either way: establish what is documented, what is corroborated and what is merely asserted.
The investigative value sits mostly in timing and pattern. When was the protected activity, and when did the performance concerns first appear in writing? Were comparable employees treated the same way? Does the documentary record support the stated reason, or was it assembled afterward?
What these inquiries examine
The questions are broadly the same whichever side engages us.
Whether performance concerns predate or postdate the protected activity
Whether comparable employees were treated consistently
Whether the stated reason is supported by contemporaneous records
Whether witnesses corroborate either account
Whether documentation appears to have been created after the fact
Whether the employer followed its own written procedure
How the inquiry is run
Scope with Counsel
We establish the specific factual questions in dispute, since employment matters turn on narrow issues rather than general fairness.
Chronology
A documented timeline of the employment, the protected activity if any, the performance record and the dismissal.
Witnesses & Comparators
Witnesses interviewed where proper, and treatment of comparable employees examined for consistency.
Report
A neutral documented report distinguishing corroborated fact from assertion, usable in mediation, agency proceedings or litigation.
Why an outside investigator
Neutral on its face
An external investigation carries credibility that an internal HR review conducted by the decision-maker's colleagues does not.
Timing established
Sequence is usually the decisive issue, and it is established from records rather than recollection.
Comparators examined
Whether similar conduct by others produced similar outcomes is frequently the strongest available evidence.
Either side
We work for employers and for employees, and the methodology does not change with the client.
Wrongful termination inquiries, answered.
Either. Employees engage us to document the circumstances of a dismissal, identify witnesses and establish a timeline before filing a charge or a claim. Employers engage us to establish what actually happened before responding to one. The work is conducted the same way in both directions.
Yes, in independence. An internal investigation is conducted by people within the same reporting structure as the decision-maker, which affects both its credibility and often its findings. An external investigator has no stake in the outcome and no relationship with either party.
It depends on the posture. Where the employer engages us, access is straightforward. Where an employee engages us, current employees may be reluctant or the employer may be represented, in which case contact rules apply and we coordinate with counsel before approaching anyone.
We report what the evidence shows. An investigation that confirms a dismissal was properly documented is valuable to an employer, and one that shows an employee's claim is weak lets them make a better decision about whether to proceed. We are not useful to anyone if the conclusion is predetermined.
Related employment disputes casework
Matters we handle alongside this one.
Establish the record independently.
Employers, employees and counsel can all engage us. The methodology is the same regardless.