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Under the Seattle law, complaints of retaliation are filed with the mayor’s office and the complainant has <br />the option of a hearing by a state hearings official. Under the Oregon law, the complainant may file a <br />retaliation complaint with BOLI and has the option of a civil suit against the entity. <br /> <br />The questions to be answered at this work session by members of the City Council include: <br />? <br /> <br />Is there a need or desire to implement a local whistleblower protection ordinance, given that there <br />exist state and federal laws to address this concern? <br /> <br />? <br /> <br />If there were a direction to create local whistleblower protection what would be the scope and <br />breadth of such an ordinance? Would this cover only City of Eugene employees in regard to City <br />of Eugene issues, or would this have broader intent? <br /> <br />? <br /> <br />How would the procedure work? Currently in place within City Code are provisions for reporting <br />ethics violations by public officials and the recently enacted complaints against public officials. In <br />both of these instances, a form is filed with the City Recorder and the City Attorney’s Office has a <br />role in determining the merit of the complaint and advises on a course of action. Should <br />whistleblower disclosures and retaliation follow the same path or should there be a third party, <br />external to the City organization involved? <br /> <br />? <br /> <br />Should there be a requirement to notify management within the City organization of a <br />whistleblower disclosure prior to doing so or should the disclosure be made to anyone? <br /> <br />? <br /> <br />How should complaints of retaliation be processed? <br /> <br /> <br />RELATED CITY POLICIES <br />There are no existing City policies addressing whistleblower protections. There are, however, in the <br />Eugene Code, provisions to address ethics complaints against public officials and a newly enacted process <br />for complaints related to public officials. <br /> <br /> <br />COUNCIL OPTIONS <br /> <br />The City Council can direct staff to develop an ordinance for further consideration addressing <br />whistleblower protections after outlining the various provisions to be included in such an ordinance, or it <br />can decide that the current Oregon protection laws provide the level of protection desired and no further <br />action is required. There may be other options to be considered after this initial work session on the <br />topic. <br /> <br /> <br />CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION <br /> <br />As this is a work session, the City Manager makes no recommendation at this time. If the council directs <br />a draft ordinance to be created, the City Manager will provide recommendations at that time. <br /> <br /> <br />SUGGESTED MOTION <br /> <br />None at this time; this is a work session to determine the sense and direction the City Council wishes to <br />take on this issue. <br /> Z:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M081027\S081027B.doc <br /> <br />