Personnel Regulation 25: Whistleblower Procedure

Not applicable.

A. Any County employee or applicant for County employment will be entitled to file with the Director of Human Resources, under penalty of perjury, a written statement disclosing facts which may be deemed to constitute gross mismanagement or significant waste of funds, an abuse of authority, and/or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. This statement must be filed within sixty (60) calendar days of the act or event which gave rise to the allegations. The complaint must include the following information:

The Human Resources Director will forward the complaint to the appropriate department head, with a copy to the County Administrator. The department head will investigate the complaint, confer with the complainant in an attempt to solve the problem, and make a decision in writing. These steps will be completed within fourteen calendar days after receipt of the complaint by the department head. If the complaint involves the department head, or if the Human Resources Director deems such appropriate, the complaint may be forwarded to the County Administrator for review.

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the department head’s written decision he or she will so advise the Director of Human Resources within seven calendar days after the department head’s decision. The Director of Human Resources will forward the complaint to the County Administrator, along with the other documents in the file. Within 21 calendar days after such notification, the County Administrator will investigate the complaint, confer with the people affected and their representatives to the extent he or she deems necessary and render a decision in writing.

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the response of the County Administrator, an appeal may be filed with the Board of Supervisors within seven calendar days of the date of the response by the County Administrator. The Board of Supervisors will conduct a hearing on the complaint, and its decision will be final.

Nothing contained in this policy will be deemed to make any record public if the record is preempted from disclosure by Government Code Section 6254, or require any public hearing or meeting which could otherwise be conducted as a closed session pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.

The County Administrator will make all reasonable efforts to assure that reprisals denominated in Government Code Section 53298 and 53298.5 are not undertaken against any person who files a complaint pursuant to this resolution.

If an employee or applicant is complaining about the Director of Human Resources, the department head or the County Administrator, the complaint should be directed to the Board of Supervisors.

Effective Date: January 2005
Revisions No. : 0
Prepared By: Laura Armor

Approved: ss/President, Board of Supervisors