1) Modification of the conditions of application of the status of whistleblower

In transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on whistleblowers, two legislative proposals were adopted on February 16th, 2022:

- the bill "aiming to improve the protection of whistleblowers" of July 21st, 2021;

- the proposed organic law "aiming to strengthen the role of the Defender of Rights in terms of alert reporting" of 15 July 2021.

These two texts respectively modify and specify the conditions of application of this status (1) as well as its effects (2) (Dir. (EU) 2019/1937 of the EP and of the Cons. EU, 23 October 2018, on the protection persons who report breaches of Union law, OJEU No. L. 305/178, 26 Nov. 2019: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/?uri= CELEX%3A32019L1937)

a) An extensive definition of whistleblower

According to the “Sapin 2” law of December 9, 2016, the whistleblower is: "a natural person who reports or divulges, in a disinterested manner and in good faith, information relating to a crime, an offence, a threat or damage to the general interest, a violation of an international commitment duly ratified or approved by France, a unilateral act of an international organization taken on the basis of such a commitment, European Union law, law or regulation" (Law n°2016-1697 "Sapin 2", art. 6) The definition is essentially maintained by the bill of July 21, 2021, with the difference that the whistleblower must no longer disclose the information “disinterestedly” but “without financial compensation” (Prop. n° 962 Law July 21, 2021 "aimed at improving the protection of whistleblowers", art. 1, para. 2)

Another change brought by the same bill: the whistleblower is no longer necessarily the personal recipient of the information, whereas the “Sapin 2” law required it.

The requirement is, however, maintained when the information has been disclosed in a professional context (Prop. n°692 Law of 21 July 2021 "aiming to improve the protection of whistleblowers", art. 1, al. 2).

Finally, according to the bill of July 21, 2021, the status of whistleblower may be granted to:

- private non-profit natural or legal persons who help a whistleblower to make a report or disclosure, called "facilitators";

- natural persons linked to the whistleblower who are at risk;

- legal entities controlled by a whistleblower, for which he works or with which he is linked in a professional context (Prop. n° 692 Law of July 21, 2021, "aiming to improve the protection of whistleblowers" , Article 1, paragraph 2).

To read all the article, please click on the link below

https://blogavocat.fr/space/frederic.chhum/content/french-labour-law-%E2%80%93-whistleblowers-lanceurs-d%E2%80%99alerte-two-law-propositions-improve-their-protections_

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Sources :

  • Proposition de loi « visant à améliorer la protection des lanceurs d’alerte » du 21 juillet 2021 : https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/15/textes/l15t0692_texte-adopte-seance ;
  • Proposition de loi organique « visant à renforcer le rôle du Défenseur des droits en matière de signalement d’alerte » du 15 juillet 2021 : https://www.senat.fr/leg/tas21-079.html ;
  • A. DEJEAN de LA BATIE, Fasc. 18-50 « Lanceurs d’alerte », Jurisclasseur Communication, 1er sept. 2021 ;
  • C. HEDON, « Transposition de la directive européenne sur les lanceurs d’alerte : quels changements ? », SSL, 01/2022.

 

 

Frédéric CHHUM avocat et ancien membre du conseil de l’ordre des avocats de Paris (mandat 2019-2021)

Martha Verner Docteur en droit

CHHUM AVOCATS (Paris, Nantes, Lille)

e-mail: chhum@chhum-avocats.com

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