WHISTLEBLOWER RESOURCES
Origins of the term whistleblower
The term "whistleblower" derives from the practice of English bobbies who would blow their whistle when they noticed the commission of a crime, which alerted both law enforcement officers and the general public of danger.
Whistleblower Retaliation - 5 U.S.C. ¤ 2302(b)(8)
A federal employee authorized to take, direct others to take, recommend or approve any personnel action may not take, fail to take, or threaten to take any personnel action against an employee because of protected whistleblowing.
Protected whistleblowing:
Disclosing information which the person making the disclosure reasonably believes evidences:
1. a violation of law, rule, or regulation;
2. gross mismanagement;
3. gross waste of funds;
4. an abuse of authority;
5. a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.
In the United States, legal protections vary depending on the subject matter of the whistleblowing and the legal jurisdiction where the case arises. The first U.S. law adopted specifically to protect whistleblowers was the Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912, which guaranteed the right of federal employees to furnish information to Congress. Victims of whistleblower retaliation have to be aware of the deadlines and means for filing proper complaints. Examples of the deadlines involved are as follows:
10 days - The time limit for Arizona State Employees and Ohio public employees;
30 days – The time limit for environmental whistleblowers to make a written complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA].
45 days – The time limit for federal employees to file a complaint of discrimination, retaliation or other violations of their civil rights laws with their agency's equal employment opportunity (EEO) officer.
90 days – The time limit for airline workers and corporate fraud whistleblowers to make their complaint to OSHA.
180 days – The time limit for nuclear whistleblowers and truck drivers to make complaints to OSHA and for victims of retaliation against union organizing and other concerted activities to improve working conditions to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
180 or 300 days – The time limit for private sector employees to make complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for discrimination claims on the basis of race, gender, age, national origin or religion.
2 to 3 years – The time limit for those who face retaliation for seeking minimum wages or overtime to file a civil lawsuit, depending on whether the court finds the violation was "willful."
6 years – The time limit for whistleblowers who report a false claim against the federal government, and suffer adverse employment actions as a result to file a civil suit for remedies under the U.S. False Claims Act (FCA). 31 U.S.C. ¤ 3730(h). Under a "qui tam" provision, the "original source" for the report may be entitled to a percentage of what the government recovers from the offenders. However, the "original source" must also be the first to file a federal civil complaint for recovery of the federal funds fraudulently obtained, and must avoid publicizing the claim of fraud until the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to prosecute the claim itself. "Qui tam" lawsuits must be filed under seal to keep the claim from becoming public until the federal government makes its decision on direct prosecution.
Federal employees could benefit from the Whistleblower Protection Act - 5 U.S.C. ¤ 1221(e) and the No Fear Act, which made individual agencies directly responsible for the economic sanctions of unlawful retaliation.
The Military Whistleblower Protection Act (10 U.S.C. ¤ 1034), protects the right of members of the armed services to communicate with any member of Congress, even if copies of the communication are sent to others.
Please consult an attorney and conduct independent research to preserve your rights, determine proper deadlines and file requisite paperwork. Information provided on this website is being supplied solely as an informational tool and does not constitute legal advice.
RELEVANT LINKS:
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
http://www.whistleblower.org/template/index.cfm
THE PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT
NATIONAL SECURITY WHISTLEBLOWERS COALITION
WORKPLACE FAIRNESS
http://www.workplacefairness.org/
ACLU
AMERICAN WHISTLEBLOWERS LEAGUE
http://www.government-insiders-forum.org/
WHISTLEBLOWER LAWS
http://whistleblowerlaws.com/protection.htm
NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER CENTER
http://www.whistleblowers.org/
Whistleblower cases:
Shawn Carpenter, a former member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories discovered that a sophisticated group of hackers were systematically obtaining access to hundreds of computer networks at major U.S. defense contractors, military installations and government agencies and retrieving highly sensitive information. After informing his supervisors, Carpenter was directed not to share the information with anyone. In spite of his supervisors order, Carpenter disclosed this information to the U.S. Army and the FBI to address the problem. When Sandia discovered his actions, they terminated Carpenter's employment and revoked his security clearance. On February 13, 2007, a New Mexico State Court awarded to Shawn Carpenter $4.7 million in damages from Sandia Corporation for firing him. The jury found that Carpenter's termination was "malicious, willful, reckless, wanton, fraudulent, or in bad faith."
Richard Convertino, a former federal prosecutor who obtained the first conviction of a defendant in a terrorism case after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In September 2003 Convertino testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee about the lack of Bush Administration support of anti-terrorism prosecutions. In retaliation for his testimony, Convertino alleges the Justice Department leaked information and violated a court order to publicly smear him in retaliation for his whistleblowing. Additionally, the Justice Department indicted Convertino for obstruction of justice and lying, which Convertino alleges is further whistleblower retaliation.
Coleen Rowley of the FBI, who later outlined the agency's slow action prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks and was later selected as one of the Time's People of the Year in 2002.
Jospeh Darby, a member of the United States military police, alerted the U.S. military command of prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison.
Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator, naturalized US citizen of Turkish descent. Edmonds was fired by the FBI in 2002 for attempting to report cover-ups of incompetence, security issues and potential espionage. Edmonds has been gagged by the State Secrets Privilege in her efforts to litigate these issues. The Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear her case without comment. Edmonds founded the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) that is looking to lobby congress and help other whistleblowers with legal and other forms of assistance.
Daniel Ellsberg, a former State Department analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Ellsberg revealed a secret account of the Vietnam War and its pretexts to The New York Times, blowing the whistle on practices of deception by previous administrations, which contributed to the erosion of public support for the war.
A. Earnest Fitzgerald, a U.S. Department of Defense auditor who was fired in 1973 by President Richard M. Nixon. Fitzgerald exposed to Congress the tidal wave of cost overruns associated with Lockheed's C-5A cargo plane. After litigation, Fitzgerald was reinstated to the civil service and continued to report cost overruns and military contractor fraud. In the 1980's Fitgerald reported that the Air Force was being charged $400 for hammers and $600 for toilet seats. Mr. Fitzgerald retired from the Defense Department in 2006.
David Franklin, a former Parke-Davis employee (a division of Pfizer). Franklin exposed illegal marketing of an epilepsy drug Neurontin in the case that revealed that the company marketed the drug for various illnesses while withholding evidence that the drug was not effective for the illnesses it was claimed to cure. After initially denying wrongdoing, Pfizer plead guilty to criminal violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, paying criminal and civil fines of $430 million dollars. This case was the largest settlement obtained for U.S. taxpayers in a case not joined by the Department of Justice and it established a new standard of accountability for pharmaceutical industry marketing practices.
Bunnatine "Bunny" H. Greenhouse, a former chief civilian contracting officer for the United States Army Corps of Engineers who exposed illegality in the no-bid contracts for reconstruction in Iraq by a Halliburton subsidiary.
Cathy Harris, a former United States Customs Service employee who exposed rampant racial profiling against black travelers. Harris worked at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia and, according to her book, Flying While Black: A Whistleblower's Story, she personally observed numerous incidents of black travelers being stopped, frisked, body-cavity-searched, detained for hours at local hospitals, forced to take laxatives, bowel-monitored and subjected to public and private racist/colorist humiliation. The book also details her allegations of mismanagement, abuses of authority, prohibited personnel practices, waste, fraud, violation of laws, rules and regulations, corruption, nepotism, cronyism, favoritism, workplace violence, racial and sexual harassment, sexism, intimidation, on and off the job stalking, etc., and other illegal acts that occurs daily to federal employees especially female federal employees at U.S. Customs and other federal agencies.
William Sanjour, a whistleblower at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for over 20 years. Sanjour won a landmark law suit against the federal government which established the First Amendment rights of federal employees to "blow the whistle" on their employer, Sanjour v. EPA,56 F.3d 85 (D.C. Cir. 1995)(en banc).
Frank Serpico, a former New York City police officer who reported several of his fellow officers for bribery and related charges. Serpico is the first officer to testify against police corruption.
Frederic Whitehurst, a chemist at the U.S. FBI Crime Laboratory who was the foremost expert on explosives residue in the 1990's, and became the first modern-day FBI whistleblower. Whitehurst reported lack of scientific standards and serious flaws in the FBI Lab, including in the first World Trade Center bombing cases and the Oklahoma City bombing case. Dr. Whitehurst's whistleblower prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General and resulted in a complete overhaul of the FBI's crime lab. Dr. Whitehust filed a federal lawsuit claiming whistleblower retaliation, and reached a settlement with the FBI in excess of $1.16 million. Whitehurst now directs the FBI Oversight Project of the National Whistleblower Center.
Julia Davis, former Customs and Border Protection Officer with the Department of Homeland Security. Davis reported lack of national security procedures, improper processing and lack of reporting in processing of Special Interest Country applicants to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) subsequent to the deficient admission procedures in allowing entry to 23 Special Interest Country applicants for admission on 4th of July, 2004 within a 10-hour period. Davis reported that in spite of specific Intelligence alerts as to the Al Quaeda's plans to enter the US via US/Mexico border on national holidays, proper procedures were not followed in admitting this unusually high number of applicants from Special Interest Countries on a national holiday, without reporting these highly suspicious entries to intelligence authorities. Davis was forced to resign, had her residence raided with a Blackhawk helicopter, Special Response Team and searched without a search warrant. Davis and her spouse were subjected to two malicious prosecutions and two false imprisonments. Both of them were eventually cleared of all wrongdoing alleged by the government, all charges against them were dismissed and they were found factually innocent by the court. The government was ordered to return all property seized in two warrantless searches and to seal and destroy arrest records.