James Radford, Author at Decatur Legal Page

Supreme Court: Georgia’s Whistleblower Protection Act Protects City, County Employees Along with State Employees

In the consolidated cases of Warren v. Fulton County and Colon v. Fulton County, the Georgia Supreme Court issued an order that strengthens our state’s whistleblower statute, by clarifying whether employees of local and county governments have the same protections afforded to state employees.

The Georgia Court of Appeals had previously held that the whistleblower law–O.C.G.A. 45-1-4, only applied to employees of “local governments,” if suspected fraud, waste, or abuse related to “state programs and operations.” The Supreme Court has reversed, finding that the statute protects all public employees who complain of fraud, waste, abuse, or violations of law, by a local government, and not only those who complain of abuse with respect to state funds. The court held, in a footnote:

Indeed, the straightforward construction of the statute outlined above makes perfect sense, as a public employee might not even know whether state money is involved at the time that he or she discovers and reports a violation of the rules to his or her supervisor. Under OCGA § 45-1-4, regardless of whether a public employee has knowledge of the extent to which state funds may or may not be involved in a reported violation of rules or regulations, the public employee would still be protected from retaliation after making the disclosure. This makes sense, as OCGA § 45-1-4 would then operate such that a public employee would always be protected from retaliation when disclosing improper conduct, rather than offering protection for some public employees who disclose improper conduct (i.e. those reporting rule violations relating to state funded operations) and leaving others who disclose improper conduct without such protection (i.e. those reporting rule violations that do not relate to state funded operations).

The Warren and Colon matters related to two former Fulton County employees who had been tasked to investigate internal complaints of fraud, waste, and abuse within Fulton County government. Shortly after they uncovered that a group of finance employees had been stealing county money to fund a private business, they were terminated without explanation.

James Radford and Lee Parks led the initial litigation of the case.

Don’t Get Railroaded

Many public employees have due process rights in their employment. Unlike private employees, who are strictly “at will,” employees of a government entity usually possess the right to contest or appeal adverse employment actions. There is generally a right to due process either pre-termination (i.e., an opportunity to be heard before a final decision is made), or a a right to appeal a termination decision once it has been made. Public employees throughout Georgia–including public school teachers, police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, and other city and county employees–have these rights, but often don’t use them. You may fear that you will be railroaded. You may fear that you don’t have anyone to help present your case and ensure your rights are respected. That is where we come in.

Our attorneys have the training and experience to help you in your personnel appeal. Contact us today.

If you have a right to appeal disciplinary actions, up through and including termination, exercise those rights. These rights may be found in a City Charter, in a County’s Ordinances and Regulations, in your employee’s Personnel Policies, or a number of other sources. Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to be railroaded. If you believe you have been unjustly terminated or disciplined, find out what appeal rights you have, and then contact an attorney to help you with your appeal.

The attorneys of Radford & Keebaugh have represented hundreds of public employees in personnel matters. We have gotten disciplinary actions reduced or eliminated, we have helped people to get their jobs back. We have fought against unlawful discrimination on the basis of political beliefs, race, sex, religion, and other factors in federal court. We have helped terminated employees to obtain unemployment benefits. While we can never guarantee a certain result, we can promise to work hard for you to ensure your best chance at success.

If you are facing disciplinary action or termination by a public employer, call us or fill out our contact form. We can help. (678) 369-3609.

Below, you can watch a video of attorney James Radford, arguing before the Georgia Supreme Court on behalf of two employees who were wrongfully terminated from the City of Greenville, Georgia. We took their fight all the way to the Supreme Court. Following this argument, we won a unanimous decision by the Georgia Supreme Court, finding that they had been wrongfully terminated.

Three Ways An Experienced Unemployment Attorney Can Help With Your Appeal

If you have been denied unemployment benefits, or if you were approved, but now your employer is appealing, you may be asking yourself, do I need an attorney to help me to appeal?

Having an attorney can be extremely helpful in a number of ways. Many people do not realize that, once an appeal has been filed, a legally binding evidentiary hearing follows. This is a full hearing, in which testimony is taken under oath, witnesses can be cross-examined, evidence can be presented, and legal arguments can be made. Your hearing is often over the phone, but sometimes in person at an office of the Georgia Department of Labor.

You are entitled to be represented by counsel if you so choose. Keep in mind the very serious nature of your appeal hearing. Hearings are typically very brief (usually an hour or less), but can have a huge impact. The outcome of your unemployment hearing will determine whether you are entitled to benefits. If you do not prevail at your initial appeal hearing, it is very difficult to prevail in a later appeal. Having an attorney can help you to be successful in your appeal in a number of ways.

First, an experienced attorney can help to put your mind at ease about what is going to happen at the appeal hearing. With an experienced unemployment attorney at your side, you know that someone is with you who has done this many times before and is familiar with the process. An experienced unemployment attorney knows what to expect, and can help to protect you from any abuses by the employer in the hearing.

Second, an experienced attorney will know the rules of evidence, and will work to keep your former employer from bringing things into the record that are irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible. For example, an employer will often attempt to base their case on hearsay, which is not admissible. However, proper objections must be made, and the legal arguments must be explained to the hearing officer. Knowing how to properly lodge the objection is important to keeping this sort of inadmissible evidence from tainting the process.

Third, an experienced attorney will know precisely what issues are relevant to your case, and can focus the hearing on those issues. The laws governing unemployment benefits are actually fairly complicated, so understanding how to narrow the focus of the hearing on the important issues can be very beneficial.

The attorneys of Radford & Keebaugh have years of experience and a record of success representing employees in their unemployment appeals. If you have questions, or wish to seek counsel, please call us at (678) 369-3609 or fill out the contact form. Please also see this other helpful resource regarding Georgia unemployment attorneys.