Resolution No. 22

Adopting an Employee Protection Program as a Policy for Albany County Employees

By Mr. Conners

WHEREAS, Our public employees, on both the State and local level, are an integral part of the working class in New York State, and

WHEREAS, Many of these public employees have found their working conditions to be in violation of an established law or rule or to be injurious to their health and safety, and

WHEREAS, many of these employees have come forward with this information and have subsequently suffered retaliatory employment action, and

WHEREAS, The Civil Service Law currently provides some protection to employees who disclose certain information to governmental bodies from retaliatory employment actions, and

WHEREAS, Our public employees are in need of further whistleblower protections so that they will not be afraid to take a positive step to report and remedy corruption in government to the news media as well as to the employer and government body, and, be it further

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RESOLVED, That it shall hereinafter be the policy of Albany County that in addition to the protections afforded by section 75-b of the Civil Service Law public employees of Albany County shall not be subject to any retaliatory personnel action for disclosing any hazardous working conditions or corruption in government to the news media as well as to the appointing authority or any governmental body, and. Be it further

RESOLVED, that it shall also hereinafter be the policy of Albany County that in any action by a public employee of Albany County who claims to have been the subject of a retaliatory personnel action in violation of Section 75-b of the Civil Service Law or of the policy established herein with respect to any such disclosure to the news media a court may order the relief provided for in Section 740 5.(a)-(e) of the Labor Law, and, be it further

Amendment was passed by unanimous vote.

Resolution as amended was adopted by unanimous vote. 3/9/92