The Whistleblower Protection Act protects cooperating with or disclosing information to an agency IG or OSC (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9)(C)). Section 2302(b)(9)(C) covers disclosures made to an IG or OSC that do not meet the precise terms of a protected disclosure under Section 2302(b)(8).
For example, in Special Counsel v. Nielson, a temporary employee cooperated with an agency IG investigation of his supervisor. The supervisor then issued the employee a lower performance rating in a manner that violated the agency’s policies on conducting performance reviews. The employee complained to the agency’s personnel office about the way his performance review was conducted and the supervisor terminated him. The MSPB held that the employee engaged in protected activity under Section 2302(b)(9)(C) when he cooperated with the IG’s investigation and announced his intent to complain to the personnel office. (71 M.S.P.R. 161, 169-70 (1996).)
In another case, the Board construed Section 2302(b)(9) to protect an individual who drafted a letter to OSC alleging abuse of authority and mismanagement but had not yet sent the letter (Special Counsel v. Harvey, 28 M.S.P.R. 595, 604 (1984), rev’d on other grounds, 802 F.2d 537, 547 (D.C. Cir. 1986).)
Whistleblower attorneys Eric Bachman and Jason Zuckerman, former senior officials at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, have released a guide for federal employee whistleblowers titled The Whistleblower Protection Act: Empowering Federal Employees to Root Out Waste, Fraud and Abuse and is available for download by clicking here.
Drawing on their experience enforcing the WPA at OSC and representing whistleblowers in private practice, the guide provides an overview of the WPA and offers practical tips for navigating some of the challenging issues that often arise in whistleblower cases. Topics covered include:
The firm has represented whistleblowers testifying before the House Financial Services Committee and vigorously opposed efforts to silence whistleblowers. The whistleblower protection lawyers at Zuckerman Law have also helped federal employees combat unlawful gag provisions in agency politicies or agreements.
If you are seeking representation in a whistleblower protection case, click here, or call us at (202) 769-1681 to schedule a free preliminary consultation. And to learn more about whistleblower protections for federal employees, see Whistleblower Protections Under the Whistleblower Protection Act.