New Philadelphia ordinance protects COVID-19 whistleblowers

Philadelphia lawmakers have enacted an ordinance protecting COVID-19 whistleblowers from retaliatory employment actions if they sound the alarm at work. The city council passed the ordinance on June 25, and Mayor Jim Kenney signed it the next day, dubbing it the Essential Workers Protection Act (EWPA).

What the new ordinance covers

Importantly, the EWPA applies to all workers in Philadelphia, not just those employed by businesses considered “life-sustaining” under Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s Executive Orders. It prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for:

• “Making a protected disclosure” about a coronavirus public health order violation; or
• “Refusing to work in unsafe conditions if the employee reasonably believes that the employer is operating in violation of a COVID-19 public health order.”

The ordinance defines “protected disclosure” as good-faith communications (including those based on or involved with carrying out job duties) demonstrating an intention to (1) disclose information that may evidence a violation of a COVID-19 public health order and significantly threaten employees’ or the public’s health or safety or (2) remedy the violation.

Devil is in the details