4.20.805 - Definitions
As used in Sections 4.20.800 through 4.20.880, the following terms are defined as follows:
"Adverse change" includes, but is not limited to: denial of adequate staff to perform duties; frequent staff changes; frequent and undesirable office changes or changes in the physical location of the employee's workplace or a change in the basic nature of the employee's job, if either is in opposition to the employee's expressed wish; refusal to assign meaningful work; unsubstantiated letters of reprimand or unsatisfactory performance evaluations; reduction in pay; denial of promotion; transfer or reassignment; demotion, suspension, or dismissal or other disciplinary action; a supervisor or superior who behaves in, or encourages coworkers to behave in, a hostile manner toward the employee; issuance of or attempt to enforce any nondisclosure policy or agreement in a manner inconsistent with prior practice; or any other significant unfavorable action that is inconsistent compared to actions taken before the employee engaged in action protected by this Chapter 4.20, or compared to other employees who have not engaged in action protected by this Chapter 4.20.
"City agency" means any department, office, board, commission, or committee of the City, or any subdivision thereof, but excludes public corporations and ad hoc advisory committees.
"City employee" or "employee" means every individual who is, or was at the time actions under this chapter were taken, appointed to a position of employment in any City agency, whether in a permanent, temporary, or intermittent position.
"City officer" means every individual elected or appointed to an office in any City agency, whether such individual is paid or unpaid.
"Commission" means the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.
"Cooperating employee" means a City employee who:
1. In good faith makes a report of alleged improper governmental action pursuant to Section 4.20.810;
2. Is perceived by the City as having reported pursuant to this Chapter 4.20, but who in fact, did not report;
3. In good faith provides information in connection with an inquiry or investigation of a report or testifies in any proceeding resulting from a report; or
4. Is perceived by the employer as providing information in connection with an inquiry or investigation of a report made pursuant to this Chapter 4.20, but who in fact has not done so.
"Executive Director" means the Executive Director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.
"Good faith" means the individual reporting or providing information has a reasonable basis in fact for reporting or providing the information.
"Gross waste of public funds or resources" means to spend or use funds or resources, or to allow the use of any funds or resources, in a manner grossly deviating from the standard of care or competence that a reasonable person would observe in the same situation. The term "gross waste of public funds or resources" also includes the non-collection of a debt or other obligation owed the City when the non-collection is done in a manner grossly deviating from the standard of care or competence that a reasonable person would observe in the same situation.
"Improper governmental action"
1. Improper governmental action means any action by an employee that is undertaken in the performance of the employee's official duties, whether or not the action is within the scope of employment, that:
a. Violates any federal, state, county or City statute, ordinance, or rule;
b. Creates a substantial or specific risk of serious injury, illness, peril, or loss, that is a gross deviation from the standard of care or competence that a reasonable person would observe in the same situation;
c. Results in a gross waste of public funds or resources; or
d. Prevents the dissemination of scientific opinion or alters technical findings without scientifically valid justification, unless disclosure is legally prohibited. This provision is not meant to preclude the discretion of agency management to adopt a particular scientific opinion or technical finding from among differing opinions or technical findings to the exclusion of other scientific opinion or technical findings.
2. Improper governmental action excludes:
a. Personnel actions, including but not limited to: employee grievances, complaints, appointments, promotions, transfers, assignments, reassignments, reinstatements, restorations, reemployments, performance evaluations, reductions in pay, dismissals, suspensions, demotions, reprimands, violations of collective bargaining or civil service laws, or alleged violations of agreements with labor organizations under collective bargaining, or any action that may be taken under chapters 41.08, 41.12, 41.14, 41.56, 41.59, or 53.18 RCW or RCW 54.04.170 or 54.04.180.
b. A properly authorized City policy, reasonable expenditure, or activity merely because an employee dissents from the City policy or considers the expenditure unwise.
"Interested parties" means the cooperating employee who alleges retaliatory action, the relevant agency, the Executive Director, and the individual employee the Executive Director alleges to have retaliated.
"Report" means:
1. Reporting any assertion of improper government action to the Executive Director including reporting violations of the Ethics and Elections Codes;
2. Reporting any assertion of improper government action to an employee's supervisor, manager, officer, or appointing authority or director;
3. Reporting any assertion of sexual harassment to the employee's supervisor, Equal Employment Officer, agency head, or other government official as set out in the City's procedure for reporting sexual harassment complaints;
4. Reporting alleged violations of the Fair Employment Practices ordinance or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to the Office for Civil Rights;
5. Reporting alleged misconduct by Seattle Police Department personnel to the City of Seattle Office of Police Accountability;
6. With respect to the Seattle Police Department, including the Office of Police Accountability, reporting any assertion of improper government action to the Office of Inspector General for Public Safety;
7. Reporting alleged violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct to the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct;
8. Reporting alleged violations of criminal laws to any law enforcement agency;
9. Reporting when the employee believes in good faith that a crime is about to be committed, to any law enforcement agency, agency head, manager, or supervisor;
10. Reporting if an employee is, in good faith, seeking advice, counsel, or opinion on their rights and responsibilities under this Subchapter III to determine whether to make a report under this Chapter 4.20;
11. Reporting outside of City government if 30 days have passed since the employee made a written report pursuant to this Chapter 4.20; or
12. Reporting in an emergency, to any person who has the ability to address the danger or risk, where the employee believes in good faith that there is a substantial and specific danger or risk of serious injury, illness, peril, or loss to any person. No emergency under this subsection 12 exists where prompt attention and reporting under this Subchapter III by the employee could have avoided the perceived need to report immediately.
"Retaliate," and its kindred nouns, "retaliation" and "retaliatory action," means to make, or use one's authority to make, an adverse change in a cooperating employee's employment status or terms and conditions of employment where the employee's status as a cooperating employee was a contributing factor in the decision making process except as provided for in subsection 4.20.870.B.
(Ord. No. 126184, § 1, 2020; Ord. 124362, § 2, 2013)
