Appendix
Corrective Actions Taken in Response to Investigations
Under the California Whistleblower Protection Act, the California State Auditor (State Auditor) may issue public reports when investigations substantiate improper governmental activities. When issuing public reports, the State Auditor must keep confidential the identities of the whistleblowers, any employees involved, and any individuals providing information in confidence to further the investigations.
The State Auditor may also issue nonpublic reports to the head of the agencies involved and, if appropriate, to the Office of the Attorney General, the Legislature, the relevant policy committees, and any other authority the State Auditor deems proper. For nonpublic reports, the State Auditor cannot release the identities of the whistleblowers or any individuals providing information in confidence to further the investigations without those individuals’ express permission.
The State Auditor performs no enforcement functions: this responsibility lies with the appropriate state agencies, which are required to regularly notify the State Auditor of any actions they take in response to the investigations, including disciplinary actions, until they complete their final actions. The chapters of this report describe the corrective actions that state agencies implemented on some of the individual cases for which the State Auditor completed investigations from January 2019 through December 2019. In addition, Table A summarizes all corrective actions that state agencies took in response to investigations from the time that the State Auditor opened the hotline in July 1993 until December 2019. These investigations have also resulted in many state agencies modifying or reiterating their policies and procedures to prevent future improper activities.
| Type of corrective action | Totals |
|---|---|
| Convictions | 12 |
| Demotions | 25 |
| Job terminations | 91 |
| Resignations or retirements while under investigation | 40* |
| Pay reductions | 59 |
| Reprimands | 345 |
| Suspensions without pay | 32 |
Source: State Auditor.
* The State Auditor began tracking resignations and retirements in 2007, so this number includes only those that occurred during investigations since that time.