This means if an employee is dismissed or treated less favourably and they can evidence it is a result of their report to an employer, they will have protection beyond a signed NDA or settlement agreement and beyond qualifying employment periods.
Historically, employees could only rely on whistleblowing protections for sexual harassment if the disclosure also fell within one of the existing categories of wrongdoing (e.g. breach of health and safety or something in the public interest). Going forward, a report that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur will explicitly qualify as a protected disclosure, provided the worker reasonably believes it is in the public interest and meets the usual statutory tests for whistleblowing.
This means that if an employee raises such a concern and is subsequently subjected to dismissal or detriment because of it, they will have statutory protection against unfair dismissal or detriment claims under whistleblowing law. Therefore, your policies, processes and training need to be clarified and audited. It also means you can’t simply rely on an NDA or settlement agreement — the employee retains an ongoing right to report this.
Can we still enter...
Kenneth Scott Miller, 48, is charged with a felony count of making a false report to law enforcement. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $500 bond. According to an Escambia County ...