ARIZONA STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Phoenix, Arizona

 

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2617

 

whistleblowers; exemptions

 

 

Purpose

 

This is a university employee protection bill.  The universities are exempt from the State whistleblower protection provisions.  The university employees number about 17,000 employees out of a total of about 43,000 state employees.  This bill brings protection for university whistle-blowers to a level similar to that available to all other state employees.

 

Specifically, the bill:

 

(1) requires that the internal university procedure for protecting whistleblowers shall include the basic elements, definitions and remedies of the state Whistleblower Protection Act which applies to employees of other public agencies;   

 

(2) provides a new ability for university employees to go to court for a trial on the facts of the case (a trial "de novo"), which will make university employee rights comparable to the rights of other state employees for a trial de novo.  This provision will allow a trial for university employees in an unbiased public forum;

 

(3) provides a separate appeal procedure, to allow tailoring to higher education needs for tenure, etc.; 

 

(4) provides for an employee making an appeal to have to put up several thousand dollars, to pursue the first level of appeal (half the cost of a mutually agreed upon arbitrator).  This will provide a barrier against frivolous claims of reprisal; and

 

(5) provides the right of a university employee who has suffered a reprisal for reporting waste, fraud or abuse to recover attorney fees and costs, which will make it possible for such an altruistic employee to be "made whole again".

 

(6) Allows recovery of attorney fees at the intermediate arbitrator level. This allows attorneys to take cases on a contingency fee level, providing a more economical means of having a first hearing for a clearly wronged whistle-blower.

 

Background:

 

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) is now proposing an improved policy for protection of whistleblowers.  However, this new policy does not include important elements that currently protect all other state employees.  For instance, the ABOR proposed policy does not allow an employee or former employee against whom a prohibited personnel practice is committed to recover attorney fees, costs, back pay”, etc.  In addition, the ABOR proposed policy does not allow an appeal to an independent board or an appeal for a trial on the facts.  Such appeals are allowed for all other state employees.