A House bill would prohibit a public utility from taking action against a utility employee who reports wrongdoing in South Carolina.
S.C. House Bill 3614, the “Rate Payer Protection Act,” aims to hold public utilities accountable to the ratepayers, said Rep. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, one of the main sponsors of the bill.
“It is a whistleblower protection initiative that affirmatively states that an employee of a utility is free from retribution from their employer for bringing to ORS (Office of Regulatory Staff) knowledge of illegal activity or excessive waste,” Ott said.
“It is important because we want employees to feel free and safe to bring forward knowledge of bad actors if it ever exists in the future. If there is a fear that they could lose their job by speaking out, they are far less likely to do so. This legislation would hopefully alleviate that fear,” he said.
The bill impacts all utilities such as the Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities, Tri-County Electric Cooperative and other cooperatives, Dominion, Duke and Santee Cooper.
“The bill is a continuation of the reform measures we passed in the wake of V.C. Summer,” Ott...
stage at the Ninth Circuit, where pharmaceutical companies say a momentous new ruling "illustrates perfectly" the constitutional concerns of U. S. Supreme Court justices regarding FCA enforcement. ...