Bill would protect public employees who report waste, fraud, and abuse  SACRAMENTO – A bill authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) to increase and better define the legal rights of state employees who report waste, fraud or abuse within state agencies is one step closer to becoming law today after the measure was approved in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Existing law to protect state whistleblowers has done little to help Ruby Cornejo and Michelle Dille, two whistleblowers within the Department of Social Services (DSS).  Cornejo and Dille, who had a combined 66 years of experience within the Department when they openly criticized a lax policy on criminal background checks for foster parents and childcare and senior home licensees, which they argued risked the lives of already vulnerable citizens. The vocal criticism didn’t sit well with the department’s management.  Cornejo and Dille reported their criticisms to the Bureau of State Audits in January 2003, only to consequently be retaliated against by their superiors.  According to Cornejo and Dille, they faced four years of “continuous and unabated hostilities, harassment, and retaliation from DSS management.” The response from DSS management is a clear violation of the California Whistleblower Protection Act, which is designed to protect civil servants from improper retaliation or intimidation and is supposed to provide a timely review and resolution of complaints regarding “waste, fraud, abuse of authority, violation of law, or threat to public health and safety.” However, the State Personnel Board has still not reviewed or resolved the cases, and Cornejo and Dille have faced combined legal costs of approximately $500,000.  As a result, Senator Yee introduced Senate Bill 1505. “State employees have a fundamental right to report without retaliation instances of waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Yee.  “Without whistleblowers, government works in a vacuum and is often not accountable to the people it is supposed to serve.  SB 1505 will ensure whistleblowers are not subjected to years of administrative hearings at the expense of themselves and taxpayers.” The cases of Cornejo and Dille are apparently not isolated cases.  According to the State Personnel Board’s report to the Governor and Legislature, of the 106 whistleblower retaliation complaints accepted by the Board between 2003 and 2005, none were resolved in favor of the complainant within the year they were submitted.  58 of the complaints were denied, 5 resulted in a “stipulated agreement” and 42 were “still pending.” “Not only do these delays result in unfair costs to whistleblowers, but they also result in burdens to the state, and in essence, renders the current California Whistleblower Protection Act useless,” said Yee.  “It is our duty to ensure whistleblowers are protected and that their contentions receive prompt and impartial investigations.  SB 1505 will allow public servants, without reservation, to best serve the residents of California.” Yee’s bill would eliminate the unnecessary and duplicative “notice of findings” process; would limit hearings to 10 hearing days, not to be extended absent good cause; would entitle the State and the injured party to seek reimbursement for their expenses, costs, and attorney fees when liability is established; and would provide protections for former employees, not just current employees. “If California is serious about having people play a vital part in the continuing exposure and correction of government abuses, it must provide the credible protections that will allow whistleblowers to come forward with some confidence,” said Terry Francke, General Counsel for Californians Aware.  “There is no greater deterrent to a potential whistleblower than the example of an actual whistleblower who experienced disaster in speaking out.” SB 1505 will next be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. ###