§ 1–615.01. Declaration of purpose. [Repealed]
Repealed.
(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 1501, 25 DCR 5740; Oct. 7, 1998, D.C. Law 12-160, § 102(b), 45 DCR 5147.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-616.1.
1973 Ed., § 1-345.1.
Emergency Legislation
For temporary repeal of §§ 1-615.01 through 1-615.03, see § 102(b) of the Whistleblower Reinforcement Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-400, July 13, 1998, 45 DCR 5158) and § 102(b) of the Whistleblower Reinforcement Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-464, October 28, 1998, 45 DCR 7821).
§ 1–615.02. Employee bill of rights. [Repealed]
Repealed.
(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 1502, 25 DCR 5740; Oct. 7, 1998, D.C. Law 12-160, § 102(b), 45 DCR 5147.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-616.2.
1973 Ed., § 1-345.2.
Emergency Legislation
See Historical and Statutory Notes following § 1-615.01.
§ 1–615.03. Complaints of criminal harassment for appearances and testimony before the Council. [Repealed]
Repealed.
(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 1503, 25 DCR 5740; Sept. 26, 1990, D.C. Law 8-169, § 2(a), 37 DCR 4835; Oct. 7, 1998, D.C. Law 12-160, § 102(b), 45 DCR 5147.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-616.3.
1973 Ed., § 1-345.3.
Emergency Legislation
See Historical and Statutory Notes following § 1-615.01.
§ 1–615.03a. Right to notice and appeal of safety-sensitive designation.
(a) If a position is designated as safety-sensitive, the agency shall:
(1) Include such designation in any position description for the position, including a job description utilized for hiring or recruitment;
(2) Provide written notice of an employee's rights under this section, including the right to appeal the safety-sensitive designation, and of an employee's right to request a reasonable accommodation, consistent with the terms of § 1-620.62, to:
(A) An employee hired into a position designated as safety-sensitive after April 27, 2021 on or before the employee's date of hire; and
(B) Each incumbent employee in a position designated as safety-sensitive as of April 27, 2021 within 30 calendar days after the April 27, 2021; and
(3) If an agency designates an employee's position as safety-sensitive after April 27, 2021 provide the employee written notice of the change in position designation, which shall include the notice described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, at least 30 calendar days before the change in designation takes effect.
(b)(1) An employee in a position designated as safety-sensitive has the right to request a written explanation of the reasons and factors justifying the designation from the employee's agency.
(2)(A) The agency shall provide the explanation to the employee within 10 business days after receiving a request pursuant to this subsection.
(B) The explanation shall include a description of the specific routine job duties and circumstances under which such duties are performed, for which it is reasonably foreseeable that, if the employee performs such duties while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the employee could suffer a lapse of attention or other temporary deficit that would likely cause actual, immediate, and serious bodily injury or loss of life to self or others.
(C) The written explanation may be satisfied by providing the requesting employee with a position description that contains the information required under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or collective bargaining agreement, an agency may update a position description to include the information required pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(B) of this section without bargaining over the language; provided, that any agreement with a labor representative, including a collective bargaining agreement, to bargain over the position designation itself shall still apply.
(d)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, an employee has the right to appeal the designation of the employee's position as safety-sensitive under the following circumstances:
(A) For employees employed by the District in positions designated as safety-sensitive as of April 27, 2021, within 45 business days after the employee receives the notification of rights provided pursuant to subparagraph (a)(2)(B) of this section;
(B) Within 45 business days after an employee becomes a qualifying patient; or
(C) Within 45 business days after the employee receives notice, pursuant to subsection (a)(3) of this section, that the employee's position will be newly designated as safety-sensitive.
(2) An employee may not appeal a safety-sensitive designation solely because:
(A) The employee failed a job-related drug test; or
(B) The employee is facing an adverse action related to the employee's failure to pass a job-related drug test.
(3) An employee may not appeal a safety-sensitive designation when the position is subject to random drug testing under federal law or as a condition of federal funding.
(e)(1) An employee may appeal the designation of the employee's position as safety-sensitive by filing a petition with the employee's personnel authority. The petition shall state the reasons why the employee's position does not meet the definition of safety sensitive, as defined in § 1-603.01(15B).
(2)(A) The personnel authority shall review the employee's petition, and any response from the agency, and issue a written determination granting or denying the employee's petition within 30 calendar days after receiving the petition.
(B) The determination shall state the reasons for the grant or denial of the petition. If the personnel authority grants the petition, it shall redesignate the position in consultation with the employing agency. If the personnel authority denies the petition, the determination shall state the right of appeal, and, subject to the availability of funding, the employee may appeal the denial to the Office of Employee Appeals, pursuant to § 1-606.03a:
(i) Within 30 calendar days after the personnel authority issues the determination; or
(ii) If § 1-606.03a is not applicable when the personnel authority issues the determination, within 30 calendar days after the applicability date of § 1-606.03a.
(C) Upon receipt of an appeal of the personnel authority's determination, the Office of Employee Appeals shall finally determine, pursuant to § 1-606.03a, whether an employee's position is safety-sensitive.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a negotiated appeal procedure established within a collective bargaining agreement that permits an employee to challenge the designation of a position as safety-sensitive shall supersede and replace the appeal procedures established pursuant to this section and § 1-606.03a.
(g) The designation of an employee's position as safety-sensitive shall not be suspended, tolled, or otherwise invalidated during the pendency of an appeal initiated pursuant to this section.
(h) Notwithstanding § 1-604.04(e), the Council may issue rules to implement the provisions of this section.
(i) For the purposes of this section, the term "agency" includes the Council.
(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 1503a; as added Apr. 27, 2021, D.C. Law 23-276, § 2(d), 68 DCR 00048.)
§ 1–615.04. Public employees as fiduciaries for consumer protection.
(a) For purposes of this section, “consumer protection law” shall include any law intended to protect, or which does in fact protect, individual consumers from unfair, deceptive, or misleading acts or practices; or the nondisclosure of product quality, weight, size, or performance. Any employee who administers, enforces, or implements any health, safety, environmental, or consumer protection law, or any rules and regulations promulgated for the enforcement of such laws, is a fiduciary to any individual or class of individuals intended to be protected, or who are in fact protected, from injury or harm, or risk of injury or harm, by laws, rules and regulations, and, as a fiduciary, is obligated to protect such individual or class of individuals.
(b) Any individual or class of individuals may commence a civil action on his or her or their own behalf against any employee or employees in any agency for breach of a fiduciary duty upon showing that said employee or employees by his or her or their acts or omissions has or have exposed said individual or class of individuals to an injury or harm, or risk of injury or harm, from which they are to be protected by the employee or employees. Such action may be brought in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia, through the Corporation Counsel, shall defend any employee or employees against whom such action is commenced. Such employee or employees may, however, at his or her or their option, provide for his or her or their own defense.
(c) If the Court finds that any employee or employees have breached their fiduciary duty by any act or omission or by any series of acts or omissions, the Court shall do the following:
(1) Order performance or cessation of performance, as appropriate; and
(2) Take any other appropriate action, including the assessment of fines not to exceed $1,000, against any employee or employees within the agency who has or have breached the duties of the fiduciary relationship.
(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 1504, 25 DCR 5740.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-616.4.
1973 Ed., § 1-345.4.
§ 1–615.05. Curbing fraud and conflicts of interest.
(a)(1) Any citizen shall have a right to commence a suit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on behalf of the District government to recover funds which have been improperly paid by the District government while there exists any conflict of interest on the part of the employee or employees directly or indirectly responsible for such payment.
(2) It shall be an affirmative defense to any action under this section that the defendant did not know or have reason to know of the conflict of interest.
(b) Any citizen who commences a suit under this section shall be entitled to 10 percent of the amount recovered for the District. The prevailing party shall recover reasonable attorney’s fees and other costs incidental to the action.
(c) The right of a citizen to commence and maintain a suit under this section shall continue notwithstanding any action taken by the Corporation Counsel or any United States attorney: Provided, however, that if the District shall first commence suit, a citizen may not commence a suit under this section: Provided, further, however, that if the District shall fail to carry on such suit with due diligence within a period of 6 months or within such additional time as the Court may allow, a citizen may commence a suit under this section and such suit shall continue notwithstanding any action taken by the Corporation Counsel or any United States attorney.
(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 1505, 25 DCR 5740.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-616.5.
1973 Ed., § 1-345.5.