ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Disney World oversight district is adopting a whistleblower policy, part of an effort board members say is aimed at encouraging a culture of openness and transparency.
Some employees thought their concerns weren’t being heard under the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s previous Disney-aligned leadership, Board Chairman Martin Garcia said on Wednesday.
“We want to adopt a policy that says we don’t have deaf ears, nothing will fall on deaf ears,” he said. “So if you have an issue, here is a new policy. Here is a new culture.”
The policy approved at Wednesday’s board meeting provides protections for whistleblowers and sets out the process for reporting unlawful activity and other concerns. It will supplement existing protections in state and federal law.
The whistleblower policy will apply immediately to nonunion staff. The effective date for unionized employees is delayed until Aug. 1 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, District Administrator Glen Gilzean said he is working to finalize a contract already approved by unionized firefighters that would boost their pay and numbers. The agreement would increase annual starting pay from $55,000 to $65,000 and add up to three dozen new firefighters and paramedics.
“We’re going to give our firefighters the best resources … to be competitive not only here locally but also here with our neighbors,” Gilzean said after Wednesday’s meeting.
The district’s board will meet in a closed-door session on...
The Newsboys’ federal lawsuit is pushing back strongly against past allegations that a woman was raped by a Newsboys lighting technician and it asserts that the report was false and contradicted b...