About the Whistleblower Hotline:
The City Auditor’s Office administers the City’s Whistleblower Hotline program. The primary objective of the Hotline is to provide a means for any City employee to confidentially report any activity or conduct related to, or involving City personnel, resources, or operations for which he or she suspects instances of fraud, waste, or abuse.
The City’s Hotline is operated as approved by its Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Policy pursuant to California Government Code §53087.6. The Statute defines fraud, waste, or abuse as “any activity by a local agency or employee that is undertaken in the performance of the employee’s official duties, including activities deemed to be outside the scope of his or her employment, that is in violation of any local, state, or federal law or regulation relating to corruption, malfeasance, bribery, theft of government property, fraudulent claims, fraud, coercion, conversion, malicious prosecution, misuse of government property, or willful omission to perform duty, is economically wasteful, or involves gross misconduct.” The Statute also requires that investigations conducted pursuant to its authority be confidential, except to issue any report of an investigation that has been substantiated, or to release any findings resulting from a completed investigation that are deemed necessary to serve the interests of the public. In any event, the identity of the individual or individuals reporting the improper government activity, and the subject employee or employees, shall be kept confidential.
An independent third-party provider accepts hotline allegations from employees through an online reporting module available on the City’s CSI or via web address of the provider. Whistleblowers can choose to remain anonymous and all information provided via the hotline will remain confidential. The Auditor’s Office can investigate claims, or they can be turned over to another City department for investigation.
On the following pages, Table 1 summarizes the types of claims received during Fiscal Year 2023-24 while Table 2 summarizes the status of the hotline investigations including the incident type, claim number, date the report was received, a general description of the report, claim status, and final resolution date.
Audit Status Report – Fiscal Year 2022/23 – December 2022 Whistleblower Hotline Report – Fiscal Year 2023-24
Whistleblower Hotline Report – Fiscal Year 2023-24 (continued)