U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka issued a statement expressing his disappointment in the Supreme Court’s decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos today, saying the decision implies the high court’s lack of protection for public employees who disclose government wrongdoing. “This decision will
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka issued a statement expressing his disappointment in the Supreme Court’s decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos today, saying the decision implies the high court’s lack of protection for public employees who disclose government wrongdoing.
“This decision will have a serious chilling effect on the willingness of public employees to come forward to disclose government waste, fraud, abuse or threats to public health and safety,” Akaka said in a release yesterday.
The case involves a former calendar deputy with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office who sued Gil Garcetti, the DA, and two other employees for retaliatory actions after he reported an alleged falsification in a sheriff’s search warrant application in a murder case.
Akaka said that in reaching its decision, the Court acknowledged that federal and state whistleblower protection laws, labor laws and occupational rules of conduct to address government inefficiency and misconduct have been adopted.
These laws, however, do not go far enough, Akaka says.
