WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION

Jacksonville Ordinance Code tit. XVI, ch. 602, pt. 5

in effect

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.501 Legislative Findings and Purpose.

Sec. 602.501. - Legislative Findings and Purpose. The City Council finds that it is in the best interests of the Consolidated Government of the City of Jacksonville, its constitutional officers and independent agencies to ensure that employees who have knowledge of unlawful activity, misfeasance or malfeasance by the City or its independent contractors report such knowledge to the appropriate authorities for investigation and corrective action. In order to encourage employees to report such information without fear of reprisal, it shall be the policy of the Consolidated Government of the City of Jacksonville to prohibit adverse action against an employee who has been properly designated as a whistleblower for disclosing such information to an appropriate official or agency. Recognizing that the State of Florida has adopted its own Whistleblower's Act, F.S. §§ 112.3187, et seq. (1993) and that the State Act provides for the adoption of local procedures for administrative enforcement, the City Council intends that this Part be interpreted consistently with the State Act, as it may from time to time be amended. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.502 Definitions.

Sec. 602.502. - Definitions. As used in this Part: (1) City shall include all departments and agencies of the Consolidated Government of the City of Jacksonville, its constitutional officers and independent agencies and districts. (2) Complainant shall mean a person who submits a written complaint to a Whistleblower Official containing allegations consistent with the requirements of Section 602.504. A complainant is not a whistleblower until designated an official whistleblower pursuant to Section 602.505(1), Ordinance Code. (3) Employee shall mean a person who performs services for, and under the control and direction of, or who contracts with, the City for wages or other remuneration. (4) Independent Agencies shall include, Jacksonville Aviation Authority, JEA, Jacksonville Housing Authority, Jacksonville Port Authority and Jacksonville Transportation Authority. (5) Local Government Authority, as referenced in F.S. § 112.3187(8)(b), as amended from time to time, shall be designated for this Part to be the Executive Officer of the City or the Independent Authority as applicable to the employee. (6) Whistleblower Official shall mean the Inspector General's Office. For the purposes of this Part, and pursuant to F.S. § 112.3187(6), the Inspector General's Office shall be the designated appropriate local official. (7) All other words or terms used in this Part shall have the same meaning as such words and terms have under the State Whistleblower's Act, F.S. § 112.3187, as may be amended from time to time. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1; Ord. 2015-234-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.503 Actions Prohibited.

Sec. 602.503. - Actions Prohibited. (1) The City shall not dismiss, discipline, or take any other adverse personnel action against an employee for disclosing information pursuant to the provisions of this Part. (2) The City shall not take any adverse action that affects the rights or interests of an employee designated as a whistleblower in retaliation for the employee's disclosure of information under this Part. (3) The provisions of this Part shall not be applicable when an employee discloses information known by the employee to be false. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.504 Nature of Information Disclosed.

Sec. 602.504. - Nature of Information Disclosed. The information disclosed under this Part must be in writing and allege one of the following: (1) Any violation or suspected violation of any federal, State or local law, rule or regulation committed by an employee or agent of the City or an independent contractor which creates and presents a substantial and specific danger to the public's health, safety or welfare; or (2) Any act or suspected act of gross mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, gross waste of public funds, or gross neglect of duty committed by an employee or agent of the City or an independent contractor, pursuant to F.S. § 112.3188. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

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

Sec. 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)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.506 Employees and Persons Protected.

Sec. 602.506. - Employees and Persons Protected. (1) This Part protects employees and persons designated official whistleblower pursuant to Section 602.505(1), Ordinance Code, who disclose information on their own initiative in a written and signed complaint; who are requested to participate in an investigation, hearing, or other inquiry conducted by the City, or by any State agency or federal government entity having the authority to investigate, police, manage, or otherwise remedy the violation or act; who refuse to participate in any adverse action prohibited by this Part; or who are otherwise protected by the State Whistleblower's Act. The provisions of this Part may not be used by employees while they are under the care, custody, or control of the State or County correctional system, or after their release from the care, custody or control of the State or County correctional system, with respect to circumstances that occurred during any period of incarceration. (2) No remedy or other protection under this Part applies to any person who has committed or intentionally participated in committing a violation or suspected violation for which protection under this Part is being sought. (3) It shall be an affirmative defense to any complaint brought pursuant to this Part that the adverse personnel action was predicated upon grounds other than, and would have been taken absent, the employee's exercise of rights protected by this Part. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.507 Remedies.

Sec. 602.507. - Remedies. (1) If a disclosure under this Section results in alleged retaliation by an employer, as defined by § 602.503, Ordinance Code, the whistleblower may file a written complaint within 60 days after the retaliatory action prohibited by this Section is alleged to have occurred. The complaint shall be filed with the Whistleblower Official who shall then acknowledge its receipt within five days. (2) The Whistleblower Official shall forward the complaint to the Civil Service Board to determine whether any retaliatory action has taken place. The Civil Service Board shall make finding of facts, conclusion of law and recommendations. (3) The Civil Service Board shall forward its finding of facts, conclusion of law and recommendations to the appropriate Local Government Authority as defined in Section 602.502(5), Ordinance Code, for a final decision by the Local Government Authority. (4) Within 180 days after the entry of a final decision by the Local Government Authority, the employee may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.508 Relief.

Sec. 602.508. - Relief. In any case brought under this Part the relief must consider all remedies pursuant to F.S. § 112.3187(9). (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.509 Reporting Employee's Award Program.

Sec. 602.509. - Reporting Employee's Award Program. For the purposes of this Section, and in addition to the definition contained in Section 602.502(3), "employee" shall also mean a person who performs work for, and under the control and direction of, any business, corporation or other entity under contract with the City for the provision of any good or service. Provided that an application is filed within six months from the date of the final report of the Whistleblower Official, an employee who has been designated an official whistleblower and who reported information pursuant to this Part which results in the City's recovery of public funds in excess of net $50,000 shall be eligible to receive an award up to ten percent of the net amount recovered not to exceed $100,000. The precise amount of any such award shall be set by the City Council in accordance with the following procedure: The President of the City Council shall form a committee of three persons, including at least two Council Members, who shall conduct a hearing for the purpose of recommending to the Council whether an award should be granted and the amount of any such award. The committee's recommendation shall include consideration of: (1) The significance of the information revealed to the City; (2) The likelihood that the City would have learned of the information if the employee had not reported it; and (3) If the information was reported by more than one employee, whether and how the award should be apportioned. The committee's written recommendation shall be submitted to the full City Council whose decision as to whether an award should be granted and the amount thereof shall be final. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.510 Existing Rights.

Sec. 602.510. - Existing Rights. This Part shall not be construed to diminish the rights, privileges or remedies of any employee under any other law or rule or under any collective bargaining agreement or employment contract; however, the election of remedies provided by F.S. § 447.401 shall also apply to complaints under this Part. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 602.511 Rules and Procedures.

Sec. 602.511. - Rules and Procedures. The Inspector General's Office is authorized to promulgate such rules and procedures and written forms necessary to effectuate the intent of this Part. (Ord. 2013-287-E, § 1; Ord. 2015-234-E, § 1)

Source: City of Jacksonville, Ordinance Code and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITXVIJUCO_CH602JAETCO_PT5WHPRFetched: 10/27/2026