"THEIR INSIGHT, EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE PROVIDED US WITH INVALUABLE GUIDANCE DURING TIMES WHEN WE FACED CRITICAL DECISIONS."
Lewis Massey - Massey, Watson & Hembree
New Georgia Whistleblower Case
April 7, 2014
On March 19, 2014, the Georgia Court of Appeals decided Tuttle v. Georgia Bd. of Regents, 2014 WL 1043941, which clarifies two important points under the Georgia Whistleblower Act, O.C.G.A. § 45-1-4 (“GWA”).
First, it holds that a claimant is not required to submit an ante litem notice before filing a GWA suit against a government entity. There had been some doubt about this previously. Second, the Court held that for statute of limitation purposes, a GWA claim accrues when the employee discovers the act of retaliation, even if he or she does not reasonably discover that the act was retaliatory until later. Because Tuttle knew as of June 2, 2009 that his position would be terminated — even though he did not learn until much later that the termination was retaliatory in nature — the statute of limitations began to run as of June 2, 2009.