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: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. DE NVE R` <br /> THE MILE HIGH CITY <br /> NOTICE OF <br /> WHISTLEBLOWER PRO ®� <br /> City and County of Denver employees are encouraged to report acts of official <br /> : misconduct to appropriate reporting authorities.Effective August 17,2007,Denver <br /> adopted a"Whistleblower Protection"ordinance prohibiting certain forms of <br /> retaliation against employees who report official misconduct in compliance with the <br /> ordinance. (for the entire text of the ordinance,see:Chapter 2,Article V11,Denver <br /> Revised Municipal Code.) <br /> . . <br /> What kind of reporting is rotected? . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <br /> The ordinance encourages and protects good-faith reporting of official misconduct by City employees.The <br /> ordinance does not protect reports and disclosures that are made anonymously,are made in violation of any <br /> law,or are made without regard to the truthfulness of the reported information,In order to come within the <br /> protection of the ordinance,an employee must make a good-faith attempt to report the information to an <br /> appropriate reporting authority. <br /> The ordinance defines"official misconduct"to include the violation of any law,rule or regulation;the misuse or <br /> mismanagement ofcityassets;or an abuse of official authority. <br /> The ordinance defines'appropriate reporting authorities"to include elected officials,law enforcement <br /> agencies,the Denver Board of Ethics,or the appointing authority for the officer or employee who is being <br /> accused of the official misconduct. <br /> . . . . . . . . . , . . . . <br /> What kind of retaliation is prohibited? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <br /> The ordinance prohibits supervisors and appointing authorities from taking any adverse employment action <br /> against an employee in retaliation for the employee reporting official misconduct.The ordinance defines <br /> • "adverse employment action"to include actual or threatened disciplinary actions,adverse performance <br /> evaluations,or denial of compensation or benefits. <br /> . . . . . . . . . . . . .. <br /> Flow may employees use this law to protect against retaliation <br /> for whistleblowing? <br /> The ordinance establishes procedures for overruling adverse employment actions taken against City <br /> employees in violation of the ordinance.Generally complaints under the ordinance must be brought within <br /> thirty(30)days of the alleged retaliation.The ordinance provides the following remedies for employees who <br /> believethey have suffered retaliation for engaging in protected whistle blowing: <br /> ® Career Service employees may use the ordinance as a basis fora complaint directly to the Career Service <br /> Hearings Office.A Career Service employee may also use the ordinance as a defense when contesting a <br /> • disciplinary action in accordance with the Career Service rules. <br /> • Classified service employees(uniformed police and fire)may use the ordinance as a basis for a <br /> complaint directly to the employee's appointing authority.A classified service employee may also <br /> use the ordinance as a defense when contesting a disciplinary action in accordance with Civil Service <br /> Commission rules. <br /> • Other City and County of Denver employees may use the ordinance as a basis for a complaint to <br /> their appointing authorities,or a defense against any disciplinary action taken against them by their <br /> appointing authorities. <br /> This notice provides only a summary of the contents of the City and County of Denver <br /> Whistleblower Protection Ordinance.For further information and details,employees <br /> are encouraged to review the ordinance in its entirety. <br /> Rev.071008 <br />