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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 23, 2022 10:34 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Jay Costa |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Inclusion of the Judiciary Under the Whistleblower Act |
| In the near future, I will be re-introducing Senate Bill 389 which will provide the same whistleblower protections to court employees that are currently afforded to all other public-sector employees in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Court, in Russo v. Allegheny County, ruled that a county court had no obligation under state law to protect an employee that presented information that a judge was making rulings based on personal relationships. The judiciary has twice affirmed that court employees are not covered by the Whistleblower Act since the Russo case was handed down. We all remember the shameful “Cash for Kids” scandal that rocked the state and underscored the need for policies that prevent personal relationships from affecting court decisions. This common-sense measure will simply add the Unified Judiciary to the list of public sector employers that are covered by the Whistleblower Act. Last session this bill was co-sponsored by Senators Fontana, Santarsiero, Baker, Tartaglione, Kearney, Kane, Comitta, Haywood and Cappelletti. Thank you for joining me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as SB213