New Whistleblower laws signed by President to protect transportation workers
Friday, President Bush signed into law three new whistleblower protections, covering truck drivers, railroad workers and public transit employees. Congratulations for the President in taking bold steps of progress and passing some of the best whistleblower protection laws that have ever been ever passed. Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, was instrumental in working with Congress to craft the legislation.
According to Representative Markey, "The new law which the president just signed will, finally close key loopholes in our homeland security defenses. Passing this law is a major achievement for the new Congress."
The new bill will have new whistleblower protections for public transit and rail safety and security employees. The transit employees are our “eyes and ears”. The new law ensures that these modern-day Paul Reveres have recourse if they are retaliated against for pointing out a safety or security flaw.
This is a major step in the right direction for transportation employees, but we can't forget about "all employees". Let's hope these new laws will be the beginning and that our legislators work together and craft legislation that looks out for everyone who is brave enough to step up and blow the whistle on wrongdoings of their employers.
You can do your part by contacting your local Congressman and encouraging them to embrace change and to continue down these bi-partisan lines and develop a National Whistleblower Protection Act. You can use the following site www.congress.org to locate your appropriate Representative.
