‘We are making sure that employees in the public sector feel safe and are protected should they need to report serious wrongdoing’
The British Columbia government has announced the final phase of its Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA), extending whistleblower protections to employees of research universities and WorkSafeBC.
The expansion aims to ensure that workers in these institutions feel secure when reporting serious workplace wrongdoing, safeguarding their rights against potential reprisals.
“By bringing employees from research universities and WorkSafeBC under the protections of PIDA, we are making sure that employees in the public sector feel safe and are protected should they need to report serious wrongdoing,” said Niki Sharma, attorney general. “Over the past five years, we have expanded PIDA to ensure that institutions have the framework in place to preserve and uphold integrity and accountability in the public sector.”
PIDA has been implemented using a phased approach since it came into force in December 2019. In 2021, B.C. announced it is bringing more public service employees and organizations under the scope of the act. BC also announced an expansion of coverage for the PIDA earlier this year.
The rule now covers 320,000 employees across 197 public sector organizations. Protections offered under the act include shielding whistleblowers from adverse actions such as demotions, job terminations, or other measures that could harm their working conditions.
The act protects employees and promotes accountability and transparency by providing a system for employees to report serious wrongdoing to designated officers within their organization or to the Office of the Ombudsperson.
Disclosers and those who participate in PIDA investigations are protected from reprisal. This includes demotion, termination of employment or other measures that negatively affect their work conditions. The act also ensures that investigations are conducted fairly and promotes transparency by requiring organizations and the ombudsperson to annually report disclosures received and the results of any investigations.
The Province passed PIDA in 2018 in response to the ombudsperson’s 2017 report, Misfire: The 2012 Ministry of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters. The report discussed the 2012 Ministry of Health dismissals and “found that the affected individuals did not deserve the significant personal, financial, and professional harm they suffered.”
The report made 41 recommendations that the province has fully implemented.
