Government Accountability Project

A recent Washington Post column sheds much-needed light on long overdue federal whistleblower reform currently pending in Congress. America is at the climax of a major campaign to overhaul the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), which has been gutted after years of hostile judicial activism. A federal whistleblower’s only legal recourse is a costly administrative hearing at Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and an option to appeal to the Federal Circuit. Yet, as the column points out, these forums rule against the whistleblower on the merits over 95% of the time.

This offers little light at the end of the tunnel for employees who put the public interest before their own when they make the brave decision to report waste, fraud, abuse, or public safety threats. Common forms of retaliation include demotion, security clearance removal, blacklisting, isolation to a storage room or house arrest, and termination. Harassment compounded by legal fees invariably results in economic duress for the whistleblower, and even isolation by friends and family. Still, whistleblowers proceed anyway, unable to turn a blind eye to contaminated meat, nuclear waste in the backyard of a school, or mistreatment of veterans.

They deserve better.

Fortunately, while Congress has stalled on whistleblower reform for years, the public mandate for reform was gaining momentum. After the 2006 elections, a Democracy Corps poll of swing voters ranked whistleblower protection strengthening second overall in their priorities for the new Congress. Last year whistleblower protection was voted the top priority by public participants in President Obama’s Open Government Directive, and today nearly 400 organizations and companies have banded together to demand real protections for federal whistleblowers through the Whistleblower Protection Act open sign-on letter.

As this column notes, “many of the signers seem to have nothing in common” except for the fact that their constituencies have a stake in whistleblower protections. After a litany of preventable calamities and a nation of angry voters, Congress is recognizing its stake in strengthening the WPA before it adjourns for the November elections.

The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act being considered by both chambers would grant Title 5 employees access to a jury trial, ending their unique status as the only group of employees who don’t have a public hearing. Not only will this result in better settlements for the whistleblower and shed light on government misconduct, but the prospect of a public trial may eliminate the need for a retaliation suit all together. If retaliators think they could be held accountable for their actions, they are more likely to treat whistleblowers as a resource rather than a nuisance to get rid of.

Finally, it looks like Congress is going to fix a broken law so that federal whistleblowers have some protections when carrying out their job duties. Sustained public pressure can only help: Write your Senator today and sign the petition asking for prompt passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act.

If you are affiliated with a group that would like to join our open sign on letter, please contact Shanna Devine at shannad@whistleblower.org or 202.457.0034, ext. 132.

Shanna Devine is Legislative Coordinator for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.