Merit Systems Protection Board

Now more than ever, stronger whistleblower protection essential

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USA, Legislation, Research, Merit Systems Protection Board
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Tom Devine and Louis Clark – May 19, 2012

Most Washingtonians now know the appalling details surrounding the General Services Administration scandal in Las Vegas. But while hundreds of GSA employees attended the October 2010 conference, and more than $820,000 in federal money was misused, only recently has the news emerged.

Which brings up a pressing question: With a scandal of this size, where were the whistle-blowers? Notably, at least one courageous employee did come forward and work with GSA Inspector General Brian Miller on the investigation. But Miller hit the nail on the head when he explained at an April House committee hearing why so few employees blew the whistle: They would have been "squashed like a bug" for doing so.

EPA scientist who warned of caustic dust from Ground Zero wins job back

Topics: 
USA, Victories, Merit Systems Protection Board
Rating: 
2

Suzanne Goldenberg – May 7, 2012

A government scientist sacked for exposing the dangers to firefighters from the caustic air at Ground Zero in the days after 9/11 got her job back on Monday. A federal court ordered that Cate Jenkins, a chemist at the Environmental Protection Agency, be reinstated to her job with back pay.

Her lawyer said the decision, although based on matters of legal process, amounted to vindication for Jenkins's claims that the EPA had covered up the danger posed to first responders and others in lower Manhattan from the asbestos and highly corrosive dust that rose from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.

E.P.A. Chemist Who Warned of Ground Zero Dust Is Reinstated

Topics: 
USA, Victories, Merit Systems Protection Board
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Leslie Kaufman – May 8, 2012

A senior Environmental Protection Agency chemist who argued that she was removed from her job in retaliation for accusing the agency of underestimating the toxicity of dust at ground zero has been reinstated with back pay by an administrative board.

The federal Merit Systems Protection Board ruled late last week in Washington that the agency violated the due process rights of the chemist, Cate Jenkins, when she was fired in 2010 because she was not informed of all the charges against her.

Pentagon whistleblower reinstated

Topics: 
USA, Victories, National security, Defence industry, Merit Systems Protection Board
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R. Jeffrey Smith – November 16, 2011

A Navy review board has overturned a Marine Corps decision to strip one of its senior science advisors of his security clearances, intervening directly in a case that attracted attention among lawmakers on Capitol Hill and among advocates of enhanced legal protection for military whistleblowers.

Franz Gayl, who complained publicly in 2007 that the Corps had squashed an urgent request from U.S. soldiers in Iraq for heavily armored vehicles, was stripped of his clearances last year and suspended indefinitely with pay. The Corps acted after alleging that he improperly placed a thumb drive in his restricted office computer.

US federal whistleblowers still see agency retaliation

Topics: 
Whistleblowers, USA, Research, Merit Systems Protection Board
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Jack Moore – November 15, 2011

For federal employees alleging serious agency wrongdoing, blowing the whistle can often feel like a David and Goliath battle. There are a number of barriers that don't just give federal whistleblowers pause, but in many cases actually stop them from going to a superior or the public with their concerns.

A new report from the Merit Systems Protection Board, "Blowing the Whistle: Barriers to Federal Employees Making Disclosures," paints a complex portrait of when federal employees blow the whistle as well as their perceptions of both protections in their favor and actions taken against them in retaliation.

More heartbreak for FAA whistleblowers

Topics: 
Aviation safety, USA, Merit Systems Protection Board
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Barbara Hollingsworth – June 14, 2011

Members of the FAA Whistleblowers Alliance were expecting more from Clayton Foushee Jr., head of the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Audit and Evaluation. Hoping that Foushee was finally willing to do something about the relentless retaliation reported by former FAA employees forced out for doing their jobs, they were once again disappointed.

"Older cases would have lesser priority," FWA Executive Director Gabe Bruno, who attended the meeting last week at the downtown offices of the Government Accountability Project, told The Washington Examiner. The former FAA manager was forced to retire after uncovering a fraudulent airline mechanic certification scheme in which 33 "mechanics" shared the same address in Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Park Police Chief Chambers is reinstated

Topics: 
USA, Victories, Merit Systems Protection Board
Rating: 
0

Joe Davidson – February 1, 2011

Teresa Chambers is back in her office. Ultimately, she overcame an unworthy effort to boot her from her job as chief of the U.S. Park Police. She was reinstated Monday, bringing to an end a long, high-profile battle in which a whistleblower scored an uncommon victory over Uncle Sam.

Victories, however, are no longer as rare as they once were. The reason: The Merit Systems Protection Board, now with two Obama administration appointees, is decidedly more employee-friendly than it was two years ago.Chambers's case illustrates the point.

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