In brief

On March 15, the Law Decree No. 24/2023 (so-called "Whistleblowing" decree) has been published in the Italian Official Gazette. The decree enhances the principles of transparency and accountability in reporting and applies to all private companies that (i) employ an average of more than 50 employees or (ii), regardless of the number of employees, are active in sectors deemed particularly "sensitive" or (iii) already have in place an Organizational Model for the prevention of crimes (so-called "231" model).

The new decree introduces the obligation to set up adequate reporting channels and whistleblower protection systems. Below, we summarize the main implications of the new decree in relation to labor law, data privacy and compliance profiles.

Employment

Specific provisions are introduced to protect individuals involved in reporting, including:

• explicit ban on retaliation against the person who made a report, public disclosure or complaint to the authorities. Retaliatory acts are all actions implemented (or even only attempted or threatened) with the aim of jeopardizing in any way the whistleblower's interests or rights. This includes dismissal, suspension, demotion, adoption of disciplinary measures, request for medical examination etc.;
• voidness of actions taken in breach of the ban on retaliation and right to reinstatement of employees dismissed as a result of said prohibited actions;
• in case of retaliatory actions in private companies and reported to the...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiU2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmxleG9sb2d5LmNvbS9s...