Public workers group ranks state whistleblower laws
Washington – Whistleblower protection laws are strongest in California, the District of Columbia and Tennessee, and weakest in Georgia, Indiana and South Dakota, according to a new analysis from advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Released Aug. 17, the analysis (.pdf file) ranked state laws based on 32 factors related to scope of coverage, usefulness and remedies against retaliation.
Ten states strengthened whistleblower protections in 2010, and another 10 have done so this year, a PEER press release said. The most significant changes occurred in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Tennessee, which adopted provisions to expand the types of issues covered under disclosure laws, lengthen the period for filing retaliation complaints and put the burden of proof on the employer.
PEER noted that although many states adopted stronger whistleblower protections, Congress has not passed reform legislation. In some states, workers have protections not afforded to federal workers, such as statutory shields for government scientists reporting suppression or manipulation of technical findings and the option of a jury trial.
Post a comment to this article
Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)