The devastating wildfires in Maui have called attention to a crucial gap in current whistleblower law.

The fires have claimed at least 115 lives, becoming the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. While the analysis is ongoing, investigators are evaluating the role of downed power lines and decisions by the state’s main power company, Hawaiian Electric.

A recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal said that after Maui — as well as California’s 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history — the nation must examine whistleblower protections for electric grid workers. Such protections would guard whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers.

“Is it possible that there are employees of Hawaiian Electric — which serves 95 percent of the state’s electric customers — who may have recently identified risks but didn’t speak out of fear of losing their jobs?” wrote Tommy Waller, CEO of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Security Policy.

Federal laws protect whistleblowers in industries such as nuclear, transportation, finance, and pipelines, as well as in food safety, tax fraud, and occupational health, “yet there are no parallel federal protections for employees who work on the infrastructure on which all modern life depends: the electric grid,” Waller wrote.

That means electric company employees who point out security or regulatory concerns can be fired.

And, in the case of the California fire, a veteran PG&E employee claimed he was fired after alerting the company about wildfire risks of certain equipment more than a year before the Camp Fire.

PG&E eventually pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fire, as well as one count of unlawfully starting a fire.

The COVID pandemic disrupted a March 2020 effort in the U.S. Senate to protect electric-grid whistleblowers; Waller called for renewed action in this area.

“The absence of such safeguards puts our nation at risk of additional wildfires and other dangerous consequences associated with electrified infrastructure, such as blackouts,” he wrote.

Indeed, the significance of an update to federal law here promises to be increasingly relevant. Steven Hawks, CAL FIRE chief, said in an analysis of the Camp Fire that “there’s no reason to believe that fire activity and severity is going to lessen anytime soon.” He added that fires are burning quickly, creating a greater risk of people getting trapped.

It’s particularly troublesome, Waller noted, to consider that perhaps these tragedies could have been prevented had employees been empowered to speak out.

Whistleblowers provide an invaluable — even lifesaving — service to our nation, and we believe they deserve the best advocates. Keller Grover provides confidential, free consultations to advise those who have observed suspected wrongdoing. We can guide them in determining the best path forward from the very beginning, helping minimize the impact of reporting, protect their rights, and achieve the best possible outcome for the situation. If you need advice, contact us today.