SEC. 4.123. CONFIDENTIALITY PROTECTION FOR WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAM COMPLAINANTS AND INVESTIGATIONS.
§ 4.123
City officers and employees must keep confidential the identity of whistleblower complainants and all information related to whistleblower investigations, unless the complainant authorizes disclosure or the Controller needs to share information to conduct investigations, take enforcement action, refer matters to other agencies, brief the Citizens Audit Review Board, or inform the public about program actions.
People who report problems to the City's Whistleblower Program get to stay anonymous. City workers must keep their identities and all investigation details private unless the person says it's okay to share them. City workers cannot try to figure out who reported something unless the person gives permission. However, the Controller (the official running the program) can share information when needed to investigate wrongdoing, discipline employees, refer cases to other departments or agencies, update the Citizens Audit Review Board about the program, or tell the public what actions were taken—but they have to do it in ways that still protect the reporter's identity and privacy.
- Complex:Subsection (c) contains four separate exceptions with multiple conditions and sub-clauses that require careful reading to understand what the Controller can disclose and when.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) WHISTLEBLOWER IDENTITY AND INVESTIGATIONS. Every officer and employee of the City shall keep confidential:
(1) The identity of any person who makes a complaint to the Whistleblower Program under Section 4.107 of this Chapter, and any information that would lead to the disclosure of the person’s identity, unless the person who made the complaint provides written authorization for the disclosure.
(2) Complaints or reports to the Whistleblower Program and information related to the investigation of the matter, including drafts, notes, preliminary reports, working papers, records of interviews, communications with complainants and witnesses, and any other materials and information gathered or prepared in the course of the investigation.
The protection of confidentiality set forth in this Section applies irrespective of whether the information was provided in writing and whether the information was provided or is maintained in electronic, digital, paper or any other form or medium.
(b) INQUIRY REGARDING IDENTITY PROHIBITED. In order to assure effective implementation of the provisions of this Section providing confidentiality to whistleblowers, City officers and employees may not use any City resources, including work time, to ascertain or attempt to ascertain directly or indirectly the identity of any person who has made a complaint to the Whistleblower Program, unless such person has provided written authorization for the disclosure. Nothing in this Section shall preclude an officer or employee assigned to investigate a complaint under this Chapter from ascertaining the identity of a complainant to the extent necessary to conduct the investigation.
(c) EXCEPTIONS. Nothing in this Section shall preclude the Controller from (i) disclosing the identity of a person or other information to the extent necessary to conduct a civil or criminal investigation or to take any enforcement action, including any action to discipline an employee or take remedial action against a contractor, or (ii) releasing information as part of a referral when referring any matter to another City department, commission, board, officer or employee, or to other governmental agencies, for investigation and possible disciplinary, enforcement or remedial action, or (iii) releasing information to the Citizens Audit Review Board so that it may carry out its duty to provide advisory input to the Controller on the Whistleblower Program, provided that information is prepared so as to protect the confidentiality of persons making complaints and of investigations, or (iv) releasing information to inform the public of the nature of the actions taken by the Controller in the operation of the Whistleblower Program provided that information is prepared so as to protect the confidentiality of persons making complaints and of investigations.
(Added by Ord. 205-08, File No. 080019, 9/18/2008; re-enacted by Proposition D, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024, Oper. 10/12/2024)