Whistleblower Protection in Texas: A Former Denton Employee’s Story
A former Denton employee, Mike Grim, who was fired after reporting a city council member for leaking documents to a reporter, told Texas lawmakers that the state’s Whistleblower Act failed him. Grim, the former executive manager of Denton Municipal Electric, testified at a House State Affairs Committee on a bill that would expand whistleblower protections to prevent retaliation against public employees who report a good-faith violation of law against an elected officer of an employing governmental entity.
Background of the Case
Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, said House Bill 1232 is needed as Texas has strong protections for public employees who report violations by a government entity or another employee but not for those involving elected officials. This means that if a city employee reports a city council member or a county staffer flags misconduct by an elected supervisor, they may not receive the same legal protections.
Grim and Jim Maynard, who also worked at Denton Municipal Electric, reported a then-city council member to the city attorney in 2016 for allegedly unlawfully leaking private vendor information on a controversial new power plant to a reporter. Grim and Maynard were fired 10 months later. Grim’s termination letter cited a loss of confidence in him as a manager and said he was not candid with investigators who were probing whether he and Maynard improperly accepted fishing or hunting trips from the new power plant’s vendors.
Consequences of the Firing
Both men argued in court that the investigations were a sham and that their firings were in retaliation for reporting the council member. Grim and Maynard won a $4 million judgment after a jury trial in 2020. An appeals court affirmed the lower-court ruling in August 2022, but the Texas Supreme Court held in May 2024 that Grim and Maynard were not protected by the whistleblower law.
Grim said his family lost health insurance during his wife’s first year of breast cancer treatment. They had to pay $3,200 per month for COBRA and exhausted half of their retirement funds, he said. “Doing the right thing cost my family and I dearly,” Grim said, adding that the city’s attacks “destroyed my 40-year professional electric power career.”
Support for the Bill
Tanner Franklin, testifying on behalf of the Texas Employment Lawyers Association, said Turner’s bill promotes good governance and protects public employees who do the right thing. “Public employees are often on the front line of defense when malfeasance occurs within our government,” Franklin said, “and Texas law should protect good employees who speak up to protect our taxpayers.”
Maynard said he was lucky to find a “semi-comparable” job in the industry after he was fired. “They completely ruined Mike’s career. He can’t get another job,” Maynard said. “I should be an executive now, but they took away my retirement. They took away my ability to continue my career, and I just urge you to close this massive loophole that was created last year.”
Conclusion
The story of Mike Grim and Jim Maynard highlights the need for stronger whistleblower protections in Texas. The current law has a loophole that leaves public employees vulnerable to retaliation when reporting misconduct by elected officials. House Bill 1232 aims to close this loophole and provide the necessary protections for public employees who report good-faith violations of law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Whistleblower Act in Texas?
A: The Whistleblower Act in Texas is a law that protects public employees from retaliation when they report violations of law by a government entity or another employee.
Q: What is House Bill 1232?
A: House Bill 1232 is a bill that aims to expand whistleblower protections to prevent retaliation against public employees who report a good-faith violation of law against an elected officer of an employing governmental entity.
Q: Why do public employees need whistleblower protections?
A: Public employees need whistleblower protections because they are often on the front line of defense when malfeasance occurs within the government, and they should be protected when they speak up to protect taxpayers.
Q: What happened to Mike Grim and Jim Maynard?
A: Mike Grim and Jim Maynard were fired after reporting a city council member for leaking documents to a reporter. They won a $4 million judgment after a jury trial, but the Texas Supreme Court held that they were not protected by the whistleblower law.
