In 2022, New York made several significant amendments to a state law protecting workers who engage in whistleblowing activity. Nonprofits with at least one employee or independent contractor in New York State that have not previously adopted a whistleblower policy are encouraged to do so. Nonprofits that previously adopted a whistleblower policy (including those that did so to comply with the New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act) should review their policies in light of these changes, consider revising those policies, and train managers accordingly.
What is a whistleblower policy?
A whistleblower policy is an organizational policy that encourages workers to report suspected illegal or improper activity within the organization while protecting workers from retaliation for making such reports.
Is our nonprofit required to have a whistleblower policy?
New York nonprofits that have at least twenty employees and annual revenues of $1 million or more are required to have a whistleblower policy under Section 715-b of the New York Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
Keep in mind that whistleblowers have significant protections under other federal, state, and local laws, even if those laws do not explicitly require adoption of a whistleblower policy. For example, Section 1107 of the American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act of 2002 (more commonly known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) makes it a crime to intentionally retaliate against any individual, “including...
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