Whistleblowing

A whistleblower is someone who asserts violation of law or laid down procedures, (Johnson, 2005). Whistleblowing has been used over the years to report on allegations of misconduct by public officials. Reports of illegal behavior are made either to the organization authorities, the media, or to lawyers. Whistleblowers are protected by the government from retaliation by their employers.It is my duty to report the matter to the State Water Pollution control Authority. The city administrator knowingly violated the set procedures. I would have also informed the law enforcers of the implication of what the city Administrator has done for prosecution. Mario did not have any evidence that he has alerted his senior, no evidence in form of a detailed letter and the proposed solution. I would have written an official letter to the City administrator as evidence that I alerted him when the problem will arise.

I believe Mario’s actions were not enough to ensure that the problem had been fixed. According to the protection Act of New Jersey, whistleblowers are from retaliation from their senior employees or employers .Because of this reason; I would not have accepted the intimidation from my supervisor. Mario failed both as an expert and as a City Engineer/ Director of public works to take appropriate action. The law prohibits the City Administrator from taking any action against Mario if he reported the matter to the authorities. The fact that Mario is an expert shows that his recommendations should considered. As a Director of Public Works, Mario had the responsibility of implementing the possible solution he had suggested to James. As a whistleblower, Mario failed to inform the relevant authorities of the implications the actions of James could cause. Informing other city officials was not enough to ensure that the problem was fixed.

According to me, James violated his responsibility of reporting to the State Water Pollution control Authority. By not alerting the authority in time shows that he failed in his duty of protecting the city residents and the environment. Intimidating other employees and preventing them from doing their duties is wrong and punishable by law.I think Chris is not a principled government employee. By accepting the appointment from James shows that he agrees with the idea that the city problems should be solved the problems occur. Chris did not consider the advices from by Mario. It is expected that Chris would decline the offer of the job and help Mario to ensure that the State Water Pollution control Authority is aware of the problem and the wastewater treatment plant is expanded.Mario’s obligation to James is to ensure that he reports the events appropriately and in accordance to the laid down reporting procedures. However, this is subject to James’ taking up the matters raised by Mario as an expert seriously.

Mario has the responsibility of reporting directly to the State Water Pollution control Authority. As a Director of Public Works, Mario has a duty to ensure that wastewater is properly treated before it is allowed to flow into the river.Mario has a duty to ensure that wastewater is not let to spill to the river before it is treated. Due to the fact, that Mario is no longer in charge of the wastewater treatment plant, he is obligated to alert the public of the impact of the pond overflowing. As a Director of Public Works, Mario should have ensured that better ponds are built to avoid the overflow of the existing pond.

These responsibilities can be fulfilled in a simultaneous manner by ensuring that the State Water Pollution Control Authority is aware of the problem. It is also fulfilled by building a larger Wastewater treatment plant.Public officials working as a team to protect the city residence and the environment will provide required results.

In case of conflict, the interests of the employer come first. In this case, the city government is the employer. The obligation of the City Engineer/Director of Public works to the residents of the city and the environment comes first. Professionalism in handling matters should always be upheld to ensure that personal difference or different opinions do not interfere with ones work. Conflict among the employees should be resolved to ensure teamwork. This is achieved through tolerance of each other I would like to know the powers and responsibilities of the City Engineer/ Director of public works. The responsibility of making sure that all the necessary steps are taken to protect both the residents and the environment should be with the City Engineer. The Director of Public Works should be responsible for the construction of public amenities. If the City Engineer/Director of Public Works had this powers and responsibilities, the conflict over the wastewater treatment plant could have been avoided. This is because the City Engineer would be directly held responsible for not taking necessary action in case of a problem occurring.

In conclusion, whistle blowing is a selfless act to ensure that there is accountability and the interests of the public are protected. People should be willing to lose their jobs in order to protect the public interest.

Reference

Johnson, A.R., (2005), Whistleblowing: when it works–and why, published by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Colorado United States of America.