Law protecting whistle-blowers now in force in public K-12 schools
Employees will benefit from new protections when bringing forward concerns about serious wrongdoing as the scope of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) expands to the public K-12 education sector, effective Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.
“Expanding PIDA to the public K-12 sector will allow employees in our education system, such as educators and staff, to confidentially speak up and share information about serious wrongdoings that affect the public interest,” said Niki Sharma, Attorney General. “It supports high standards of integrity and accountability in our public service – which people in British Columbia expect and deserve.”
PIDA protects employees who disclose concerns about serious wrongdoing affecting public interest to designated officers within their organizations, or to the Office of the Ombudsperson. Disclosers, and those who participate in PIDA investigations, are protected from acts of retaliation, including demotion or termination. The act also ensures that these investigations are conducted fairly and transparently by requiring organizations and the ombudsperson to annually report disclosures received and the results of any investigations.
The Province passed PIDA in 2018 in response to the ombudsperson’s 2017 report Misfire: The 2012 Ministry of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters. The report made 41 recommendations that the Province has fully implemented.
The act has been progressively implemented across the public sector since it came into force on Dec. 1, 2019. It currently applies to staff in government ministries, independent offices of the legislature, tribunals, select agencies, boards, commissions, and Crown corporations, all provincial health authorities, Providence Health Care, and BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS).
Quick Facts:
- Specific types of wrongdoing that may be disclosed under PIDA include:
- a serious act or omission that, if proven, would constitute an offence under an enactment of B.C., or Canada;
- an act or omission that creates substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of an employee’s duties or functions;
- a serious misuse of public funds or public assets;
- gross or systemic mismanagement; and
- knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing above.
Learn More:
To read the Public Interest Disclosure Act, visit:
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/18022
To learn more about PIDA and how to make a disclosure, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/careers-myhr/about-the-bc-public-service/ethics-standards-of-conduct/knowing-about-public-interest-disclosure
For more information about B.C. legislation, visit: https://workingforyou.gov.bc.ca/legislation