Okla. Admin. Code § 455:10-3-6

Current through Vol. 42, No. 7, December 16, 2024

Section 455:10-3-6 - Alleged violations of employee's freedom of expression

(a)General. For purposes of this section agency means any office, department, commission or institution of the state government [74:840-2.5(B)]. No officer or employee of any state agency shall prohibit or take disciplinary action against employees of such agency, whether subject to the provisions of the Merit System or in unclassified service, for:

(1) Disclosing public information to correct what the employee reasonably believes evidences a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution or law or a rule promulgated pursuant to law;

(2) Reporting a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, state or federal law, rule or policy; mismanagement; a gross waste of public funds; an abuse of authority; or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety;

(3) Discussing the operations and functions of the agency, either specifically or generally, with the Governor, members of the Legislature, the print or electronic media, or other persons in a position to investigate or initiate corrective action;

(4) Taking any of the above actions without giving prior notice to the employee's supervisor or anyone else in the employee's chain of command. [74:840-2.5(B)].

(b)Appeal rights.

(1) Any employee or any former employee aggrieved pursuant to this section may file an appeal with the Commission within 60 calendar days of the alleged disciplinary action [74:840-2.5(G)]. This is a statutory time limit and may not be extended.

(2) The appeal shall contain, as a minimum,:

(A) the name of the person(s) alleged to have violated this section;

(B) the disciplinary action taken and when such disciplinary action was taken;

(C) the public information disclosed, to whom it was disclosed, and when it was disclosed; or,

(D) the violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, state or federal law, rule or policy, mismanagement, gross waste of public funds, abuse of authority, or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety reported, to whom it was reported, and when it was reported, or;

(E) the operations and functions of the agency discussed, with whom such discussions were made, and when such discussions took place.

(3) Sufficient evidence or information shall be provided which causes the Executive Director to believe there is a causal connection between the alleged protected activity and the disciplinary action. For purposes of this section, causal connection means such evidence or information which shows that the disciplinary action was taken in relationship to the alleged protected activity.

(c)Sanctions. Section 840-2.5(H) of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes sets out corrective actions and sanctions which may be taken for violation of this section.

(d)Freedom of expression posting. Each state agency, department, institution, board and commission in all branches of state government shall prominently post or publish a copy of Section 840-2.5 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes in locations where it can reasonably be expected to come to the attention of all employees [74:840-2.5(D)].

Okla. Admin. Code § 455:10-3-6

Amended at 10 Ok Reg 657, eff 1-1-93 through 7-14-93 (emergency)¹; Amended at 13 Ok Reg 3025, eff 7-15-96; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2560, eff 6-26-00; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2376, eff 7-1-02; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 559, eff 3-1-08 through 7-14-09 (emergency)²; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2690, eff 7-25-09

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 33, Issue 24, September 1, 2016, eff. 9/11/2016

1This emergency action expired without being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last effective permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-93 (after the 7-14-93 expiration of the emergency action), the text of 455:10-3-6 reverted back to the permanent text as it existed prior to 1-1-93, and remained as such until amended again by permanent action on 7-15-96.

2This emergency action expired before being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last effective permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-09 (after the 7-14-09 expiration of the emergency action), the text of 455:10-1-2 reverted back to the permanent text that became effective 7-1-02, as was last published in the 2006 Edition of the OAC, and remained as such until amended again by permanent action on 7-25-09.