Whistleblower protections get another chance in Senate

Virtually identical measure failed last year when a senator placed an anonymous hold.

"Quick passage of this bill would signal that Congress is serious about tackling waste and saving taxpayer dollars," said Angela Canterbury, director of public policy at the Project on Government Oversight. "Federal workers are on the front lines for witnessing waste, fraud and abuse. They need safe, legal channels for making legitimate disclosures and adequate protections for looking out for the rest of us."

A bipartisan contingent of senators has reintroduced legislation to provide better protections for federal whistleblowers.

The 2011 Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act is virtually identical to the legislation that narrowly missed passage last December, when an anonymous senator blocked it on the last day of the 111th Congress.

In the only change to last year's version, the new law would strike an exception to whistleblower protection for minor, inadvertent violations of law. "That exception attempted to codify an exception created by Federal Circuit case law, but there were concerns raised about whether the exception is appropriate and whether the provision inadvertently went further than current case law," said Jesse Broder Van Dyke, spokesman for Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, the bill's lead Democratic sponsor.

Akaka first sponsored a whistleblower bill in 2000 and has reintroduced the measure every Congress since then. "This bill strengthens the Whistleblower Protection Act and restores congressional intent that whistleblowers be protected from retaliation," Akaka said. "This protection is crucial to efforts to improve government management, cut the deficit, protect public health and safety, and to secure the nation."

The new measure would strengthen the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act, most notably by suspending for the next five years the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals sole jurisdiction over federal employee whistleblower cases. That court rarely has ruled in favor of federal whistleblowers. Alleged victims of whistleblower retaliation now would be able to seek a jury trial anywhere in the country.

The legislation also would extend whistleblower coverage for the first time to 40,000 Transportation Security Administration baggage screeners, along with federal scientists. And the bill would end a provision in existing law that protects only "the first" person who discloses the misconduct. The bill also would clarify that disclosures of waste, mismanagement, fraud, abuse or other illegal activity are protected, but not disagreements over policy decisions.

In addition, the act would give the Office of Special Counsel the authority to file friend -of -the court briefs to support employees appealing Merit Systems Protection Board rulings. MSPB would be required to file annual reports on the outcomes of whistleblower cases, and an experimental whistleblower ombudsman position would be created to advise employees of their rights in offices of inspectors general. The board also would be provided with authority to consider and grant summary judgment motions in certain cases.

In a move likely to strike some controversy, the bill once again includes whistleblower protections for national security and intelligence community employees, who would be given an administrative appeals process to provide legal and safe channels for disclosures of wrongdoing. An identical provision was cut from the version that the House passed last year, ultimately leading to the bill's undoing in the Senate.

The Senate passed a prior version of the whistleblower bill by unanimous consent in 2007. The House passed a similar bill, but the chambers were unable to work out their differences before the 110th Congress adjourned.

Federal watchdogs and whistleblower advocates called on Congress to finally pass the measure.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.