The City of Grants Pass and Josephine County are both subject to Oregon’s Whistleblower Protection Statutes (ORS 659A.199 and related). Still, neither appears to have a standalone, dedicated Whistleblower Policy prominently published on its website – unlike several comparable Oregon municipalities and counties.

Without a clearly published, locally accessible policy, Grants Pass and Josephine County employees and residents who witness wrongdoing are left to navigate state law on their own – with no obvious starting point, no named point of contact, and no visible assurance of protection. In practice, that doesn’t lead people to look harder; it leads them to say nothing at all. The County is currently facing multiple lawsuits from former employees alleging commissioners retaliated against them after they participated in an ethics investigation.

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