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Whistle-Blowing

Whistle-Blowing. Whistle blowing. (def): the unauthorized public disclosure of privileged information by an employee ot protect the public interest must be unauthorized must be public must be information the employee has access to by virtue of their job position

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Whistle-Blowing

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  1. Whistle-Blowing

  2. Whistle blowing... • (def): the unauthorized public disclosure of privileged information by an employee ot protect the public interest • must be unauthorized • must be public • must be information the employee has access to by virtue of their job position • i.e. not simply personal opinion

  3. Whistle blowing... • the issue? • appropriate balance between individual rights of the employee and their duty of loyalty to their employer • when is whistle blowing justified? • when should whistle blowing be punished?

  4. Criteria • Is the whistle-blower acting in the public interest? • what is the public interest? • life • health • safety • environment? • wasting tax dollars? • who should judge? • the whistle-blower? • the government • a third party

  5. Criteria – Is Whistle-Blowing Justified • Is the whistle-blower acting in the public interest? • Does the whistle-blowing seem likely to contribute to changes protecting the public interest? • has the threat to the public interest already been rectified?

  6. Criteria • Is the whistle-blower acting in the public interest? • Is the whistle-blower acting in good faith? • Does it matter if the whistle-blower is right or wrong? • How wrong is acceptable? (i.e. what is the standard of proof that the whistle-blower ought to assume?)

  7. Criteria • Is the whistle-blower acting in the public interest? • Is the whistle-blower acting in good faith? • Has the whistle-blower exhausted internal channels? • does pursuing the issue through internal channels make sense in the circumstances?

  8. Criteria • Is the whistle-blower acting in the public interest? • Is the whistle-blower acting in good faith? • Has the whistle-blower exhausted internal channels? • Does the whistle-blowing prejudice the ability of the whistle-blower to do their job? • undermine the ability of the office to perform its functions?

  9. Criteria • Is the whistle-blower acting in the public interest? • Is the whistle-blower acting in good faith? • Has the whistle-blower exhausted internal channels? • Does the whistle-blowing prejudice the ability of the whistle-blower to do their job? • Were the actions of the whistle-blower proportionate to the public interest at stake? • release only of necessary information • release of information in appropriate public forum?

  10. Criteria – Is Disciplinary Action Justified? • Did the government do a test of balance between the rights of the whistleblower as a citizen and their duty of loyalty? • did the government ask the previous four questions?

  11. Criteria – Is Disciplinary Action Justified? • Did the government do a test of balance between the rights of the whistleblower as a citizen and their duty of loyalty? • Was proper procedure followed? • was the whistle-blower formally reprimanded and given official reasoning for the reprimand? • was unofficial pressure placed on the whistle-blower?

  12. Criteria – Is Disciplinary Action Justified? • Did the government do a test of balance between the rights of the whistleblower as a citizen and their duty of loyalty? • Was proper procedure followed? • Does the restricted action infringe the rights of the employee as little as reasonably possible? • Is the disciplinary action proportionate to the seriousness of the offence?

  13. Broader Issues • How broad should justifications for whistle-blowing be drawn? • Does punishment of whistle-blowers violate their individual rights? • how much protection should be provided to whistle-blowers? • How much secrecy is tolerable in a democracy? • Will protection for whistle-blowers improve the performance of the public service? • Why? • Why not?

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