BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1749
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1749 (Bonnie Lowenthal and Audra Strickland)
As Amended April 27, 2010
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Tran, Brownley, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Ammiano, |
| |Evans, Hagman, Jones, | |Bradford, Coto, Davis, |
| |Knight, Swanson, Monning, | |Hill, Hall, Harkey, |
| |Nava | |Miller, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
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SUMMARY : Applies certain whistleblowing protections to the
judicial branch. Specifically, this bill :
1)Includes employees and applicants for employment by the
Supreme Court, a court of appeal, a superior court, or the
Administrative Office of the Courts within the definition of
"employee" for the purposes of the California Whistleblower
Protection Act (WPA), except as specified.
2)Authorizes an employee or applicant for employment with those
judiciary entities who files a written complaint alleging
actual or attempted acts of reprisal, retaliation, or similar
prohibited acts for having made a protected disclosure, to
also file a copy of the written complaint with the State
Personnel Board (SPB), together with a sworn statement that
the written complaint is true, under penalty of perjury.
3)Requires the SPB to investigate any claim filed and make a
recommendation regarding the alleged retaliation.
4)Provides that any person, other than a judge or justice, who
intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, or
similar prohibited acts against an employee or applicant for
employment with those judiciary entities for having made a
protected disclosure, is subject to punishment for a
misdemeanor, and shall be liable in an action for civil
damages brought by the injured party. Prohibits an employee
of those judiciary entities from using his or her official
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authority or influence in violation of these provisions, and
would make that employee liable in an action for civil damages
brought by the injured party.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Assuming a similar proportion of complaints from court
employees (22,000) as for employees currently covered under
the WPA (about 330,000), the SPB would likely incur minor
costs (less than $25,000) for a handful of additional
investigations each year. The SPB currently investigates
about 67 cases each year.
2)The courts may similarly incur minor costs to provide legal
defense for judicial officials that would be the object of a
complaint pursuant to the Act. In addition, because the bill
creates a cause of action for an additional pool of employees,
it could impact court backlogs and costs.
COMMENTS : This bill is sponsored by the joint authors, who
explain their rationale as follows:
AB 1749 gives Judicial Branch employees the same
level of protection against retaliation for reporting
wrongdoing as is currently afforded to other
employees of the state bureaucracy. The
approximately 22,000 employees of Judicial Branch of
California government are outside the scope of the
existing Whistleblower Protection Act. AB 1749 would
expand the Act to include these employees, thereby
encouraging them to alert the public when its
resources are being misused.
All working Californians enjoy some level of
protection from retaliation if they report a
violation of law by their employer. But that blanket
protection granted in the Labor Code does not cover
those who report instances of what is generically
called waste, fraud or abuse, in the non-criminal
sense.
Because it is in the interest of all Californians to
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uncover wasteful or inappropriate activities of
public officials, the state's Whistleblower
Protection Act provides very broad protection so that
any employee may feel safe when calling attention to
actions they believe are not for the public good.
The bill has earned support from the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU), which describes it as one proposed
improvement that will help bring the judiciary in line with
other tax payer funded entities with respect to oversight and
accountability. SEIU states, "When employees are free to report
suspected law violations regarding government operations or
misuse of public funds and be free of retaliation, it only
serves the public's best interest and helps to ensure that our
tax dollars are being used wisely and prudently."
The bill is likewise supported by the Judicial Council "because
it will promote transparency and accountability within the
branch in a manner that appropriately acknowledges the integrity
and independence of the judicial branch."
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0004339