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On 23 May 2024, Parliament adopted the long-awaited draft law on the protection of whistleblowers (which is supposed to implement the European Parliament (EU) Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of the rights of whistleblowers of 23 October 2019). After more than two years after the deadline for implementing the EU legislation, it seems likely that employers (and whistleblowers) will finally live to see legislation that has caused them so much concern.
Admittedly, the bill still must be passed by the Senate and then signed by the President before it can enter into force. However, many significant changes to its content are unlikely.
The draft law provides for a broad package of criminal sanctions and claims for persons to whom its provisions have been incorrectly applied. In view of the imminent entry into force of the whistleblower provisions, it is certainly worthwhile to become familiar with the potential consequences of violating them.
By 17 May 2024, employers must adapt workstations that existed before 17 November 2023 to the new OHS and ergonomics requirements resulting from the amended provisions of the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 1 December 1998 on Occupational Health & Safety at Workplaces Equipped with Display Screen Monitors.
The creation of a new workstation as of 17 November 2023 means that the employer must apply the amended legislation from the outset.
The draft bill on the protection of whistleblowers, published on 17 April 2024, intended to implement Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of whistleblowers, provides detailed guidelines on requirements that obliged employers must meet in establishing internal reporting procedures.
On 17 April 2024, another bill on the protection of whistleblowers was submitted to the Lower House of Parliament (Sejm). The law is intended to implement the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of whistleblowers into the Polish legal order. After more than two years of work, at this session the government adopted what seems to be the final version of the draft.
A few days ago, a bill to amend the Foreigners Act appeared on the legislative agenda of the Polish Council of Ministers. Work on the bill is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024. It provides for changes in several important areas, including:
- Implementation into Polish law of Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment (EU Blue Card)
- Electronic filing of applications for temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits and long-term EU resident permits, instead of filing these applications in paper form in person at the province office.
This is the fourth in a series of articles in which we discuss the duties of a data controller with respect to data protection breaches in the employment context, drawing on Guidelines 01/2021 on Examples regarding Personal Data Breach Notification adopted on 14 December 2021 (version 2.0) from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB).