The enactment of the law aims at creating, in both the public and private sectors, secure information channels through which officials and employees can report cases of wrongdoing, including corruption, and at establishing the rights and obligations of whistleblowers in this process, as well as measures to protect them from reprisals for whistleblowing.
The law provides for different whistleblowing mechanisms for the public and private sectors.In particular, the document clarifies
- how and to whom an employee must report observed misconduct;
- what measures the employer must take to protect whistleblowers;
- what sanctions apply to an employer for retaliatory action against whistleblowers;
- when an applicant may disclose information containing confidential information under criminal and civil law.
For private sector organizations, the regulation amends Legislative Decree No. 231 of June 8, 2001, on the administrative liability of legal entities, by establishing an additional requirement to the "organizational model" (compliance program) adopted by the company:
- The existence of channels for employees to report potential or actual observed misconduct, of which at least one channel must be an information and telecommunications channel(IT channel), and guaranteeing the confidentiality of the complainant's identity;
- establishing mechanisms to prevent reprisals and/or direct and/or indirect discriminatory actions against complainants;
- introducing into the system of disciplinary sanctions established in the organization special sanctions for non-compliance with measures to protect complainants, as well as for unjustified official disclosures committed with malicious intent or gross negligence.
If an employee is subjected to some form of retaliatory action following a whistleblowing incident, he or she may seek protection from the National Labor Inspectorate, including through a trade union.
With regard to whistleblowing in the public sector, the law provides for the addition of a new article 54bis to Legislative Decree No. 165 of March 30, 2001, which regulates labor relations in the public sector. This article establishes, inter alia:
- the need to maintain the confidentiality of the applicant's identity;
- a prohibition on the use of reprisal measures (direct or indirect) against the applicant;
- the procedure for filing complaints of reprisals in connection with whistleblowing (with the Department of Civil Service of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - Dipartimento della funzione pubblica).
The reason for initiating the adoption of the law was the story ofAndrea Franzoso (Andrea Franzoso), who in 2013, while working in the internal audit unit of the Northern Railways (Ferrovie Nord Milano - FNM), reported on the illegal spending of company funds by its president for personal needs (hotel stays, phone bills, etc.). Over a period of 7 years, the illegal spending reached the amount of €600 thousand. As a result of the disclosure, the head of the organization was dismissed, a criminal case was opened against him, which resulted in his sentencing to 2 years and 8 months in October 2017
Speaking about the new law, Franzoso, while noting its adoption as a positive trend, pointed out that this step is only the beginning, and the legislative regulation of whistleblower protection in Italy still has many weaknesses. For example, for the private sector, the issue of protecting employees of small and medium-sized enterprises remains unregulated, which lack the "organizational models" provided for by Legislative Decree 231 to ensure the establishment of a whistleblowing system. Experts from Transparency International's Italian division as another
UPD. Law No. 179 of November 30, 2017 was published in the Italian legislative assembly on December 14, 2017 and comes into force on December 29, 2017.