Event Will Educate Potential Whistleblowers, Lawyers of New Protections;
Coleen Rowley to Provide Keynote Address

 

(Washington) – GAP, together with the American University Washington College of Law, is sponsoring a national conference in Washington, D.C. on June 23, 2008. The Emerging Era in Whistleblower Rights and the Public’s Right to Know explores recent legislative advances in whistleblower rights, along with pending legislation to enhance transparency, accountability and employee free speech rights. The conference is set to last from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the AU Washington College of Law.

GAP has seen a dramatic increase in whistleblower disclosures, particularly by federal employees, since the Bush administration took office. The conference is an opportunity for attorneys, academicians, employee advocates, government and private workers, and whistleblowers to learn how to better navigate the system. Recently enacted and pending laws promise to help clean up corruption, waste, fraud and abuse by protecting employees who blow the whistle on wrongdoing.

Coleen Rowley is the keynote speaker of the event. Rowley, former FBI Special Agent and Minneapolis Chief Division Counsel, was one of three Time Magazine “Persons of the Year” in 2002. She blew the whistle on FBI Headquarters’ failure to act on information provided by her Field Office, pre-9/11, about terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui.

The conference will also feature panel discussions that include such guests as: Ann Beeson (Open Society Institute), Danielle Brian (Project on Government Oversight), Tom Devine (Government Accountability Project), Louis Fisher (Library of Congress), Mike German (ACLU), Conrad Martin (Fund for Constitutional Government), Bonnie Robin-Vergeer (Public Citizen Litigation Group), Michelle Ash (Rep. Waxman’s office), Joanne Royce (Investigative Counsel for House Committee on Energy & Commerce), Peg Seminario (AFL-CIO), and David Vladeck (Georgetown University).

Additionally, computer security expert Babak Pasdar, whose disclosures about secret government spying on cell phone users in the US are credited with helping to stop a Congressional agreement to grant telecommunication companies retroactive immunity as part of a national security bill, will provide a luncheon address.

The overall goal of the conference is to educate the public about new and imminent whistleblower protections. Recent whistleblower legislation successfully signed into law over the last year has included:

  • Defense Contractor Whistleblower Protections: Strengthened whistleblower protections for employees of Department of Defense (DoD) contractors and grantees was signed into law in January. Pentagon contracts make up 70 percent of the nearly $400 billion that the U.S. government spends annually on contracts. The bill provides whistleblower protections for employees working on most taxpayer-financed DoD projects, recognizing that the potential for abuse in wartime spending is not limited to traditional DoD contracts.
  • Ground Transportation Security Whistleblower Protections: Last year landmark whistleblower protections for transportation security and safety employees were passed as part of Congress’ 9/11 legislation. Protections for employees of railroad, trucking, public transit, bus, and other land transportation providers were included. The new whistleblower provisions, for example, protect both Washington D.C.’s Metro system workers and Greyhound Bus employees if they report security concerns that threaten the safety of passengers. The laws also allows rail, public transit, and bus operators to responsibly raise mechanical or other safety problems before they operate any vehicle without fear of reprisal.

In addition to these laws already in place, the expert panels will address key whistleblower legislation that is on the verge of being passed:

  • Consumer Product Worker Protections: Whistleblower protection for millions of employees are included in current legislation designed to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission Act. That legislation, which is currently in a joint conference, would provide whistleblower protections to any employee voicing safety concerns about consumer products in commerce.
  • Whistleblower Protection Act: Current legislation awaiting reconciliation would also restore and strengthen the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) for federal government workers. That good government law has been gutted and discredited by 13 years of hostile court rulings, which made it nearly impossible to qualify for protection under the law.

The majority of the day will be spent listening to various panels address pressing whistleblower issues. The panel topics are:

Panel 1 – Restoring Openness and Accountability to Government and Corporations: This panel will analyze what has not worked with previous whistleblower laws; how public employees’ First Amendment rights have been constrained; and how recently enacted reforms will help remedy these shortcomings. Panelists include:

  • David Vladeck, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center (Moderator)
  • Tom Devine, Legal Director, GAP
  • David Marshall, Partner, Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP
  • Sean Moulton, Director of Federal Information Policy, OMB Watch
  • Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, Public Citizen Litigation Group
  • Jason Zuckerman, Principal, The Employment Law Group, PC

Panel 2 – The Special Case of National Security: This panel focuses on the governmental veil of secrecy in the name of fighting terrorism, the significance of national security whistleblower disclosures, common retaliation tactics, and national security workers being specifically exempted from whistleblower protections. The panelists will discuss how overuse of the State Secrets privilege, the over-classification of documents, and the circumvention of FISA hinder the public’s right to transparency. The panel also considers strategies for effecting national security disclosures and legislative reforms to protect national security whistleblowers. Panelists include:

  • Conrad Martin, Executive Director, Fund for Constitutional Government (Moderator)
  • Ann Beeson, Director of U.S. Policy, Open Society Institute
  • Danielle Brian, Executive Director, Project on Government Oversight
  • Louis Fisher, Specialist in Constitutional Law, Library of Congress
  • Mike German, Policy Counsel for National Security, American Civil Liberties Union
  • Stephen Kohn, Executive Director, National Whistleblower Center

Panel 3 – The Next Steps Toward Achieving a Comprehensive Openness Agenda: This final panel focuses on how the whistleblower bills that are pending or awaiting reconciliation will advance an openness agenda, and will conclude with the brainstorming of strategies to achieve a comprehensive system of accountability and transparency. Panelists include:

  • Tom Devine, Legal Director, GAP (Moderator)
  • Michelle Ash, Chief Legislative Counsel to Rep. Henry Waxman
  • Lynn Dondis, Senior Policy Advisor, House Committee on Education and Labor
  • Joanne Royce, Investigative Counsel, House Committee on Energy & Commerce
  • Peg Seminario, Director of Safety and Health, AFL-CIO
  • Jeb White, President, Taxpayers Against Fraud