SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 9, 119, 208 PRINTER'S NO. 473
No. 7 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY D. R. WRIGHT, WAMBACH AND BELARDI,
JANUARY 18, 1989
SENATOR BELL, CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, IN
SENATE, FEBRUARY 14, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing protection for public
3 utility employees who report a violation or suspected
4 violation of Federal, State or local law; providing
5 protection for such employees who participate in
6 investigations, hearings, inquiries or court actions; and
7 prescribing remedies and penalties.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Title 66 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
11 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
12 § 3316. Protection of public utility employees.
13 (a) Persons not to be discharged.--No employer may
14 discharge, threaten or otherwise discriminate or retaliate
15 against an employee regarding the employee's compensation,
16 terms, conditions, location or privileges of employment because
17 the employee or a person acting on behalf of the employee makes
18 a good faith report or is about to report, verbally or in
19 writing, to the employer, the commission, the Office of Consumer
1 Advocate or the Office of Attorney General, an instance of
2 wrongdoing or waste.
3 (b) Discrimination prohibited.--No employer may discharge,
4 threaten or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against an
5 employee regarding the employee's compensation, terms,
6 conditions, location or privileges of employment because the
7 employee is requested by the commission, the Office of Consumer
8 Advocate, THE OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATE or the Office of <--
9 Attorney General to participate in an investigation, hearing or
10 inquiry held by the commission, THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL, <--
11 or in a court action relating to the public utility.
12 (c) Civil action.--A person who alleges a violation of this
13 section may bring a civil action in a court of competent
14 jurisdiction for appropriate injunctive relief or damages, or
15 both, within 180 days after the occurrence of the alleged
16 violation.
17 (d) Necessary showing of evidence.--An employee alleging a
18 violation of this section must show by a preponderance of the
19 evidence that, prior to the alleged reprisal, the employee or a
20 person acting on behalf of the employee had reported or was
21 about to report in good faith, verbally or in writing, an
22 instance of wrongdoing or waste to the employer, the commission,
23 the Office of Consumer Advocate, THE OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS <--
24 ADVOCATE or the Office of Attorney General.
25 (e) Defense.--It shall be a defense to an action under this
26 section if the defendant proves by a preponderance of the
27 evidence that the action by the employer occurred for separate
28 and legitimate reasons, which are not merely pretextual.
29 (f) Enforcement.--A court, in rendering a judgment in an
30 action brought under this section, shall order, as the court
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1 considers appropriate, reinstatement of the employee, the
2 payment of back wages, full reinstatement of fringe benefits and
3 seniority rights, actual damages or any combination of these
4 remedies. A court shall also award the complainant all or a
5 portion of the costs of litigation, including reasonable
6 attorney fees and witness fees, if the court determines that the
7 award is appropriate.
8 (g) Penalties.--A person who, under color of an employer's
9 authority, violates this section shall be liable for a civil
10 fine of not more than $500. A civil fine which is ordered under
11 this section shall be paid to the State Treasurer for deposit
12 into the General Fund.
13 (h) Notice.--An employer shall post notices and use other
14 appropriate means to notify employees and keep them informed of
15 protections and obligations under this section.
16 (i) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
17 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
18 subsection:
19 "Employee." A person who performs a service for wages or
20 other remuneration under a contract of hire, written or oral,
21 express or implied, for a public utility.
22 "Employer." A person supervising one or more employees,
23 including the employee in question, a superior or an agent of a
24 public utility.
25 "Good faith report." A report of conduct defined in this act
26 as wrongdoing or waste which is made without malice or
27 consideration of personal benefit and which the person making
28 the report has reasonable cause to believe is true.
29 "Waste." An employer's conduct or omissions which result in
30 substantial abuse, misuse, destruction or loss of funds or <--
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1 resources belonging to or derived from a public utility.
2 "Wrongdoing." A violation which is not of a merely technical <--
3 or minimal nature of a Federal or State statute or regulation or
4 of a political subdivision ordinance or regulation or of a code
5 of conduct or ethics designed to protect the interest of the
6 public or the employer.
7 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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