State Agency Responsibilities
State Agency Responsibility for Notifying Employees
Under Section 8548.2 of the California Government Code, each state agency, by July 1, 2002, must print notices containing information concerning the California Whistleblower Protection Act and post the notices in locations where other employee notices are maintained. The California State Auditor shall provide the information to be posted (11 x 17 Whistleblower poster in pdf format). Each state agency can publish the notice in any manner it chooses and may include its own introductory language in the notice, but a state agency cannot edit the text of the notice provided by the State Auditor. In addition, by July 1, 2002, and annually thereafter, each state agency must send the information contained in the notice by electronic mail to all of its employees who have authorized access to agency electronic mail (Whistleblower e-mail message in rich text format).
State Agency Responsibility for Reporting Actual or Suspected Thefts, Frauds, or Irregularities
Section 20080 of the State Administrative Manual (SAM) directs state entities to notify the Bureau of State Audits and the Department of Finance of all cases of actual or suspected fraud, defalcation, theft, or other irregularities. This requirement applies to all incidents involving state assets, whether alleged against state employees or others. State entities should make this notification in writing not later than the first business day following the discovery of these incidents. The SAM section noted above describes the information that should be included in the reports and timelines for submitting progress reports on what the entities have done to investigate and resolve the incidents.