1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to state government; preserving access to
1.3 	employee data for certain terminated state employees;
1.4 	prohibiting public employers from retaliating against
1.5 	employees who report waste or mismanagement; providing
1.6 	access to a contested case hearing for employees who
1.7 	claim whistle-blower status; amending Minnesota
1.8 	Statutes 2004, sections 43A.33, subdivision 1;
1.9 	181.932, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for
1.10 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 15.
1.11 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.12 	Section 1. [15.175] CERTAIN EMPLOYEE RECORDS.
1.13 	(a) Data, records, files, and all written or electronic
1.14 	materials of, or relating to, a state employee who is
1.15 	involuntarily terminated from employment with a state agency
1.16 	must be preserved for a period of at least two years after the
1.17 	employee's termination from employment, or a longer period as
1.18 	required under section 138.17.  A state employee who has been
1.19 	terminated may request the opportunity to review all data
1.20 	covered by this section.  An agency responding to a request made
1.21 	under this section must provide a response within ten days after
1.22 	receiving a written request.  This paragraph does not apply to
1.23 	an individual named on a layoff list prepared under chapter 43A.
1.24 	(b) If a state agency terminates an employee subject to the
1.25 	protections in paragraph (a), the agency may provide the
1.26 	employee with written notice of the employee's right to review
1.27 	the data protected by paragraph (a).  The notice must inform the
1.28 	employee that the employee has ten business days from the day
2.1 	the employee acknowledges the receipt of the notice to review
2.2 	the data.  The notice must provide the name of a contact person
2.3 	within the agency who will make the data available to the
2.4 	employee for review.  The agency may dispose of the data without
2.5 	reference to paragraph (a) ten business days or more after
2.6 	notifying the employee.
2.7 	(c) A state agency that destroys, shreds, or alters data,
2.8 	records, files, or materials in violation of this requirement is
2.9 	liable to the employee for damages resulting from that
2.10 	violation, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred by
2.11 	the employee in enforcing the employee's rights under this
2.12 	section.  In addition, the employee is also entitled to
2.13 	reinstatement to the position from which the employee was
2.14 	terminated, plus reimbursement for lost wages and health and
2.15 	retirement benefits if the records or data were relevant and
2.16 	material to the employee's termination of employment or the
2.17 	employee's claim for wrongful termination of employment.

2.18 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 43A.33,
2.19 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.20 		Subdivision 1.Discharge, suspension, demotion for cause,
2.21 	salary decrease.  Managers and employees shall attempt to
2.22 	resolve disputes through informal means prior to the initiation
2.23 	of disciplinary action.  No permanent employee in the classified
2.24 	service shall be reprimanded, discharged, suspended without pay,
2.25 	or demoted, except for just cause. The discharge of an employee
2.26 	from unclassified service who is on leave from the classified
2.27 	service does not affect or rescind the application of the
2.28 	procedures under this section to the discharge, if any, of the
2.29 	employee from the classified service.

2.30 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 181.932, is
2.31 	amended by adding a subdivision to read:
2.32 		Subd. 1a.Public employers. (a) The state, including a
2.33 	state postsecondary educational institution or a political
2.34 	subdivision of the state as defined in section 6.56, subdivision
2.35 	1, may not discharge, discipline, threaten, penalize, or
2.36 	otherwise discriminate against an employee regarding the
3.1 	employee's compensation, terms, conditions, location, or
3.2 	privileges of employment because the employee, in good faith,
3.3 	reports or is in the process of preparing a report regarding
3.4 	serious waste, inefficiency, or mismanagement in the employee's
3.5 	place of employment that diminishes the value the public
3.6 	receives from the employer, even though the waste, inefficiency,
3.7 	or mismanagement reported does not in itself violate any federal
3.8 	or state law or rule.
3.9 	(b) An employee contesting disciplinary action under
3.10 	paragraph (a) for the preparation of a report that was not
3.11 	submitted before the discipline must demonstrate the occurrence
3.12 	of the violation by clear and convincing evidence.
3.13 	(c) A state employee who is involuntarily discharged from
3.14 	the unclassified service and who claims the discharge violated
3.15 	this subdivision or subdivision 1 may seek review of the
3.16 	discharge under the contested case procedures in sections 14.48
3.17 	to 14.69.  The jurisdiction of the Office of Administrative
3.18 	Hearings is limited to a determination whether the discharge was
3.19 	in violation of this subdivision or subdivision 1 and the
3.20 	provision of any appropriate remedies.  The parties to the
3.21 	contested case proceeding must be allowed access to relevant
3.22 	documents and witnesses for a reasonable period of time before
3.23 	the hearing on a proceeding under this paragraph.  The
3.24 	administrative law judge must consider the quality and integrity
3.25 	of the investigative process, if any, used by the agency when
3.26 	reviewing evidence submitted by the agency.