Assemblymember Phil Steck (D-Colonie) announced that legislation he authored to eliminate a penalty for whistleblowers passed the Assembly (A.375).

“For far too long, we’ve turned a blind eye to the fact that stepping up and speaking out against wrongdoing often means putting reputations, careers and futures on the line,” said Steck. “The brave individuals who come forward with claims about harassment, discrimination or any other unlawful acts deserve to be heard. This bill will protect their rights so that they’re no longer silenced.”

Steck’s legislation eliminates a provision of the law that prevents whistleblowers from making more than one claim against an entity, diminishing the rights of the claimant, and causing them to fear coming forward. The only category of legal claims where this penalty applies is to whistleblowers. This legislation eliminates that penalty.

Throughout his time in the Assembly, Steck has been a tireless advocate for transparency and accountability. Allowing whistleblowers to assert additional claims will help ensure corruption, harassment and other wrongdoing in our government and society do not go unchecked, noted Steck.