In light of Brockton schools' $14M deficit, what is a whistleblower?
BROCKTON — The school district's assistant financial officer plans to file a Massachusetts Whistleblower Protection Act claim in relation to Brockton Public Schools' ongoing $14.4 million deficit in the fiscal year 2023 budget.
Chris Correia, the director of financial services for the school district, notified the city and Brockton School Committee on Friday, Sept. 8, of his plan to file a whistleblower complaint, as well as claims under the state and federal civil rights statutes.
Mayor Robert Sullivan placed Correia and Correia's boss, Aldo Petronio, the school district's chief financial officer, on administrative leave on Friday, Sept. 1. The action came a day after Sullivan stood outside Brockton High School, with the school committee behind him, and told members of the public and media that the district had overspent $14.4 million in fiscal year 2023, which ended in June.
Correia's attorney, Brockton's Timothy Burke, informed City Solicitor Megan Bridges, Acting Superintendent of Schools James Cobbs and Human Resources Director Sandi Charton on Friday of Correia's intention to file a whistleblower complaint.
'This is beyond irresponsible:' Brockton schools assistant CFO rang deficit alarm in 2022
What is a whistleblower employee?
"A whistleblower is a person who exposes suspected fraud, waste, abuse or other misconduct by an individual or organization," according to the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General. "Often, a whistleblower is employed by, works with or has some other formal relationship with the alleged wrongdoer."
Whistleblowers can be entitled to legal protection under state or federal law as long as they follow certain procedures outlined in whistleblower statutes.
What laws protect whistleblowers in Massachusetts?
"Massachusetts whistleblower laws are designed to protect people who report information about suspected illegal, wasteful or unethical activity," the state's inspector general's website states.
People who report suspicious regarding illegal activity by an individual or organization to the state's public fraud, waste and abuse hotline may have their identity protected under state law.
State law protects whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers and criminalizes the intimidation of whistleblowers.
Where are Massachusetts whistleblower laws outlined?
The laws are written in Chapter 149, Section 185 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
Enterprise senior reporter Cody Shepard can be reached by email at cshepard@enterprisenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: What are MA's whistleblower laws? Brockton employee seeks protection
