(a) No representative of the office shall be held liable for good faith performance of responsibilities under this chapter.
(b) No discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action shall be taken against any employee of a facility or agency, any patient, resident, or client of a long-term care facility, or any volunteer, for any communication made, or information given or disclosed, to aid the office in carrying out its duties and responsibilities, unless the same was done maliciously or without good faith. This subdivision is not intended to infringe on the rights of the employer to supervise, discipline, or terminate an employee for other reasons.
(c) All communications by a representative of the office, if reasonably related to the requirements of that individual’s responsibilities under this chapter and done in good faith, shall be privileged, and that privilege shall serve as a defense to any action in libel or slander.
(d) Any representative of the office shall be exempt from being required to testify in court as to any confidential matters, except as the court may deem necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1097, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 1997.)