Government Accountability Project empowers whistleblowers to hold the powerful accountable and advocate for change. Through a combination of legislative initiatives, litigation, investigation, and educational outreach, we make sure truth tellers are heard, protected, and that the truth they expose matters.

Education & Partnerships

Through our Education & Partnerships Program, the Government Accountability Project shares our expertise about the essential role whistleblowers play in exposing abuses of public trust. By serving as a resource to key stakeholders, including journalists, public interest organizations, and others, we amplify support and advocacy for whistleblowers and the concerns they raise.

Legislative Initiatives

Government Accountability Project has drafted, spearheaded the campaigns to pass, or helped defend all the federal whistleblower protection laws that exist today. We have unique expertise, earned over 40 years, in minimizing the risk and maximizing the effectiveness of whistleblowing.

Top Legislative Initiatives

Department of Energy Nuclear Regulatory Commission Whistleblower Act: Government Accountability Project submitted written testimony to recommend fixes to the language of the 2005 version of the Act. Changes would help overcome sovereign immunity objections that have prevented several whistleblowers from accessing a jury trial.

Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act: The cornerstone for the bill is providing access to court and jury trials to seek justice, indispensable since the Merit Systems Protection Board administrative remedy has been paralyzed since January 2017 and faces a more than a 3,500 case backlog that will take years to overcome after it becomes functional again. The legislation is a comprehensive makeover of due process enforcement for statutory rights Congress unanimously has enacted four times, but have been a mirage in practice.

Covid 19 Whistleblower Protection Act: This legislation led by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jackie Speier would modernize  rights for over 5 million government contractors, not just those receiving pandemic funds. It would add protection for state and local employees, contractors as well as employees, and international contractor whistleblowing,  It also would tighten confidentiality protections, and expand anti-retaliation rights beyond workplace harassment with a whistleblower affirmative defense against civil or criminal liability.

Special Inspector General for Law Enforcement Act: This legislation would break through the conflict of interest where police departments investigate themselves, as well as be a step forward in reprisal protection to crack the Blue Wall of Silence.

Litigation

Since our founding in 1977, Government Accountability Project has defended over 8,000 whistleblowers. Currently, Government Accountability Project’s team includes upwards of 18 attorneys who litigate claims across a variety of different fields. Government Accountability Project is a one-stop shop: We make sure our clients’ rights are upheld and use the truth to hold government accountable.

Government Accountability Project litigates whistleblowing claims through the following areas of expertise:

  1. Public Health
  2. Energy, Environment & Climate Change
  3. National Security
  4. Corporate & Financial Accountability
  5. International Whistleblower Rights
  6. Government Accountability

In-house attorneys and policy analysts help substantiate and litigate whistleblower claims. We harness our industry-leading expertise and comprehensive knowledge of the justice system to provide the best legal counsel possible to our clients. Government Accountability Project has our clients’ back so they won’t face mistreatment for doing their jobs.

If you are a whistleblower and are in need of Government Accountability Project’s legal services, please fill out our intake form.

Investigations

For decades, Government Accountability Project investigators have exposed corruption and kept both public and private organizations accountable to the law. Our full-time investigators have contributed to major publications on topics ranging from public health to national security and human rights.

The Government Accountability Project recognizes that whistleblowers do not only need support in the courtroom, but also guidance in sharing their stories with the public. In addition to working with our litigators, our team identifies, investigates, and exposes wrongdoing and corruption throughout the government and within corporations, both domestically and internationally. Our investigators allow whistleblowers to share their experiences with a larger audience and harness the power of public opinion to put pressure on public and private organizations to galvanize reform.

Government Accountability Project has published thousands of articles in hundreds of major news outlets in the last 40 years. Our investigative reporting has been featured in major publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times.

If you would like to report a confidential tip to Government Accountability Project’s investigators, please fill out our intake form.