State Auditor contests removal of whistleblower protections, proposes counter legislation

State Auditor Nicole Galloway today reaffirmed her intention to protect a public employee’s ability to call out wrongdoing in the workplace. Galloway says a section of Senate Bill 43, which took effect on Monday, removes protections that allow public employees to report misuse of tax money.

Galloway proposed a legislative solution, the Public Employee Whistleblower act, which she says would reverse the specific section of the current law and enforce even stronger protections for whistleblower to make Missouri “a leader” in public employee protection.

Galloway says the recently enacted legislation “removes state level protection for whistle blowers and does not remedy them.” Her proposed legislation will be submitted by State Senator Jill Schupp and Representative Gail McCann Beatty in the upcoming legislative session.

An online form for public employees looking to report employers for wrongdoing has been available and continues to be today. Galloway says her hotline for whistleblowers is “a start but it is not enough.”