HB 49: Georgia Anti-Corruption Act; enact

Georgia law already protects public employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse from being fired, demoted, or otherwise punished by their government employer. House Bill 49, called the Georgia Anti-Corruption Act, rewrites that law (O.C.G.A. § 45-1-4) to extend the same protections to independent contractors working for public employers, not just employees. The bill widens the definition of retaliation to cover any adverse action, not just adverse employment actions, and removes language limiting protection to public employees alone. It eliminates the current one-year deadline (or three years from the retaliatory act, whichever is earlier) for filing a lawsuit, instead allowing a suit any time after discovering the retaliation. It also bars public employers from raising any justification or excuse for retaliation in court, except what the law itself allows, and it creates a new misdemeanor charge for any agent of a public employer who violates the anti-retaliation rules.

• Extends whistleblower protections currently limited to public employees to also cover independent contractors working for public employers.
• Broadens the definition of retaliation to include any adverse action by a public employer, not just adverse employment actions.
• Removes the current one-year (or three-year) statute of limitations for retaliation lawsuits, letting suits proceed any time after the retaliation is discovered.
• Bars public employers from offering any justification or excuse for retaliation in a lawsuit except what the law specifically allows.
• Creates a new misdemeanor criminal offense for any agent of a public employer who violates the law's anti-retaliation and anti-gag-policy rules.
• Expands protection to cover disclosures of violations of 'any other duty or requirement,' not just laws, rules, or regulations.

Public employees and, newly, independent contractors who work for state agencies, courts, the legislature, or local and regional government entities that receive state funding. It also affects public employers and their supervisors and agents, who face expanded liability and a new misdemeanor penalty for retaliatory conduct.

People who report government fraud, waste, or abuse, including contractors who currently have no protection under this law, would gain legal cover against retaliation. Removing the filing deadline means old retaliation claims could still be brought, and the new misdemeanor charge adds personal criminal risk for officials who violate the law.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Georgia Anti-Corruption Act.'
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 45-1-4, extending whistleblower protections to 'any person, including, but not limited to, an independent contractor' rather than only public employees.
• Subsection (a)(5) broadens 'retaliate' or 'retaliation' to include any adverse action by a public employer, removing the word 'employment' from the prior narrower definition.
• Subsection (e)(1)(A) removes the prior one-year or three-year statute of limitations, allowing suits to be filed any time after the retaliation is discovered.
• New subsection (e)(1)(B) bars public employers from asserting any justification or excuse for retaliation in court except as the Code section provides.
• New subsection (g) makes it a misdemeanor for any agent of a public employer to violate the law's ban on retaliation or gag policies.
• Section 3 repeals all conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-16House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-01-15House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-14House Hopper (House)

• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)Primary sponsor
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)

• whistleblower protection
• government accountability
• public employees
• independent contractors
• anti-corruption