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Return to Article: Backlog of whistleblower complaints piles up

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  Advice: (1) do not report FWA; (2) do not trust USOSC. Rationale: been there done that - after 28 months with no replies/investigation, USOSC decided to not pursue the investigation. That provided my bosses (the names reported) 28 months to make my life miserable. Recommendation: money is going to be wasted/stolen - don't participate, but don't paint a target on your chest.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 1, 2003 10:18 AM
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  Office of Special Counsel has a backlog of complaints? If you are a whistleblower, OSC is not going to help anyway. They rubber stamp virtually anything that they receive. It appears to me that OSC is intentionally creating a backlog to support additional budget and staffing increases. Of course, there is the annual OSC poster child award. OSC and its close cousin, Merit Systems Protection Board, are two of the most worthless agencies in the federal government.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 1, 2003 9:58 AM
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  Just finished reading your article and I couldn't agree more with some of the comments. The statement made by Mr. Ruch that filing a complaint at the Office of Special Counsel is like calling 911 and being put on hold is very accurate. Part of the reason that OSC has a backlog of cases is that the word is out to upper management that the OSC almost never investigates a complaint. Supervisors view the OSC as a paper tiger and feel that they can do whatever they wish with no fear of repercussions.

  It has been my experience that you would have to have DNA evidence and a dead body to get the good folks at the OSC to make a few calls to check out your complaint, contact witness, etc. I provided over 16 pages in my complaint and gave OSC the names and phone numbers of at least 7 witnesses. My complaint has yet to be investigated. My complaint is solid, and you would think OSC would be interested in it to ensure that justice is achieved.

  One piece of advice you could provide your readers is to contact their senator. After weeks of daily calls to the staff person who handled my case, and her supervisor, I was only able to get a call back after I contacted my senator's office to complain about the OSC's non-response. All of a sudden someone actually answered the phone. I spoke to a human for the first time in months. After the senator's staff member called, OSC found my case in the dead file and it is now sitting on Mr. William Reukauf's desk for review and referral.

  I now find myself fighting the agency that is supposed to be fighting for me. I wonder how much of my case file is actually on Mr. Reukauf's desk and what his next actions will be. His office says he will call back after he reviews the file. We will see, as that has not been my experience thus far.

  Anonymous Posted July 29, 2003 10:30 AM
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  William Rudman said he couldn't make "heads or tails" of the criteria OSC uses to decide a disclosure's fate. "It seems like a crapshoot as to whether they blow off [a case] or run with the ball," he said. "I don't know how they decide what cases to run with."

  That seems to be par for the course in this administration.

  GovExec.com reader Posted July 22, 2003 8:12 AM
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  This is called faith-based whistle blowing and is a function of George the third's administration. Poor girl has been gone since June but the cases are more than 6 months old - sounds like she was not doing the job. Bet she got a bonus though! There is no excuse for this situation - none at all! The Bush administration should get out of the process. Whistleblowers should go to GAO and GAO should investigate.

  GovExec.com reader Posted July 22, 2003 6:34 AM