§ 602.505. To Whom Information Disclosed and Process to Designate Status of Whistleblower.

(1)

The information disclosed in writing under this Part must be disclosed to a Whistleblower Official. An employee who discloses such information and is officially designated as a whistleblower, pursuant to F.S. § 112.3187, Florida Statutes, shall be entitled to the full protection of this Part and to the remedies and awards it provides.

(2)

Upon receipt of the written complaint, the Whistleblower Official shall determine whether the employee is a whistleblower pursuant to F.S. § 112.3189, as may be amended from time to time.

(3)

Pursuant to F.S. § 112.3188, as may be amended from time to time, the name and identity of the designated whistleblower shall remain confidential, unless the whistleblower waives this confidentiality; the Inspector General's Office shall establish procedures to safeguard the identities of these designated whistleblowers.

(4)

The Whistleblower Official shall also establish an investigative plan considering the factors found in F.S. § 112.3189, as may be amended from time to time. The information may be forwarded to the State Attorney's Office, the appropriate human resources personnel, the Ethics Commission (if any ethics code violation may have occurred), or any other appropriate agency. Prior to forwarding the information, the name and identity of the whistleblower shall be redacted.

(5)

When the investigation is complete, the report shall be forwarded to the complainant who has been officially designated as a whistleblower for any comments. The report is then a public record, but the identity of the whistleblower shall always remain confidential, per F.S. § 112.3188.

(6)

If the Whistleblower Official does not designate a complainant as a whistleblower, all documents shall be returned to the complainant with a statement as to why the complainant was not so designated and with an explanation that the complainant is not designated as a whistleblower and cannot rely on the provision of law in this Part.

(Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1; Ord. 2015-234-E , § 1)