Georgia House of Representatives
Public Information Office
Room 505, Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-5082 1-800-282-5800

House Lawmakers Put Whistle Blower Issues on Front Burner

Greater Protections Sought for Those Willing to Come Forward

Atlanta– Members of the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from several interested parties recently on four pieces of "whistle blower" legislation that saw action in the 2004 session of the General Assembly. Sponsors plan to reintroduce the bills in some form for the 2005 session that begins January 10th. All the measures provide greater protections to those employees willing to come forward and expose corruption and waste of their employer. Current Georgia law only provides protections for a limited amount of state employees in the executive branch.

Proponents such as Common Cause, Georgia Association of Educators and others claimed more protection needs to be provided to ensure whistle blowers can make their case without fear of reprisal. A representative from the Governor's Office of the Inspector General, who is also in favor of the proposals, said that employees do not have protection from an employer's retaliation during the investigation process but only when the matter has gone to court.

Others however, specifically in public education, spoke of a more measured approach and said administrative procedures are already in place in many school systems to protect employees from retaliation. They also said legislation changing Georgia 's law might hurt employee/ employer relations and affect the budgets of school systems in these tight economic times.

"More protections are needed in the state of Georgia for those courageous employees who go out on a limb," said Representative Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and sponsor of whistle blower legislation. "Existing state law is too weak to protect those who see fraud and corruption."

The committee will meet throughout the fall to determine what legislation will be introduced for the upcoming session.

# # #

For further information, contact Rep. Oliver @ 404-656-5125.