Question: Is there a way for a city employee to file an anonymous complaint against his or her bosses for stealing taxpayer resources? If so, how? I need to stay anonymous, at least until I know the complaint is being taken seriously, because I’m afraid I will lose my job.
Answer: Yes, you may contact the Honolulu Ethics Commission, which investigates alleged misuse of city government resources and conflicts of interest. Although the commission prefers to know a complainant’s name, which it keeps confidential, it does accept anonymous complaints from city workers and the public.
“Even if the complainant remains anonymous, it is very important that they stay in contact with us through email or phone so that we can ask them for specific information to help investigate the case,” said Charles W. “Chuck” Totto, the commission’s executive director and legal counsel.
You may fill out the complaint form online at honolulu.gov/ethics/complaintform.html. If you don’t provide your full name and address, do provide some way for investigators to follow up, such as a cellphone number or email address.
The form also asks for details of the alleged wrongdoing, contact information for others who can corroborate your account (witnesses’ names also are kept confidential), and descriptions of available evidence, such as photographs, audio or video. You’ll also be asked to state why you are remaining anonymous, which in your case would be fear of retaliation.
Although the online form is the preferred reporting method, you also may phone, fax, email or mail in your complaint. Complete contact information is on the same Web page as the complaint form.
However you report, “the confidentiality of your identity is carefully safeguarded by law and Commission practice because it is crucial to fostering a free flow of information between the parties to an inquiry and the Commission. The Commission’s published written advisory opinions are edited to protect the identity of the parties,” according to the commission’s website.
There are other ways to report these allegations, such as by alerting the head of your boss’s department or by calling the police or another law enforcement agency. Given your strong desire to remain anonymous because you fear losing your job, the Ethics Commission seems a better option; other methods are more likely to require that you reveal your identity to make the complaint.
If you are a member of a labor union, you might wish to contact your union representative as well.
Stephen H. Levins, executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection, said Hawaii law protects whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting violations of the law.
Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 378-62 states that “an employer shall not discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate against an employee regarding the employee’s compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment” because the employee, or a person acting on his or her behalf, reports or is about to report a violation of law, rule, ordinance or regulation, unless the employee knows that he or she is making a false report.
May Day is Lei Day
Honolulu’s Lei Day celebration is Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Kapiolani Park. The free event features music, entertainment, Hawaiian crafts, storytelling and, of course, the investiture of the Lei Day Court and the display of prize-winning lei. For specific event times and more details, see honoluluparks.com.
Mahalo
On April 10, I went to Pearl City Walmart. I don’t know why, but I forgot a package in my cart. I returned to the store from Kalihi. The bag had simple things like cereal, toothbrush, popcorn and a phone-minutes card. I didn’t really expect anyone to turn it in because it was everyday usable stuff, but it was worth $70 so I thought I’d try anyway. To my surprise someone did return it to customer service. Everything was still in the package. The rest of the day I kept saying, “Wow, Wow, I can’t believe it.” Blessings to the person who returned my package! Thank you. — Grateful
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
