GAP - Whistleblower Law Blog

Senate Passes Whistleblower Reforms

Juliet@LaBovick.com (LaBovick Law) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:45:41 -0500

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate, with a unanimous vote, passed the Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act (S.274). This new law enhances the protection for federal employee whistleblowers.

Passage of S.274 now sets the stage for a conference between the House and Senate to agree final legislative language. On March 14, 2007 the House enacted the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 985), which expanded the scope of whistleblower protections to national security related agencies, permitted employees to obtain jury trials in federal court, provided enhanced protections for federal contractors and protected employees who exposed misconduct to their managers.

According to the Government Accountability Project (GAP), the Whistleblower Protection Act reform has been struggling for eight years to reach the end of a convoluted approval process. Proud supporters include the bi-partisan efforts of Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) Susan Collins (R-ME), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Carl Levin (D-MI) and Richard Durbin (D-IL). In 2004 and 2005 the bill passed committee, but was blocked by procedural holds. Last year Senators Levin and John Warner (R-VA) obtained its Senate approval as part of the Defense Authorization funding bill, but it was killed in the conference committee on the defense bill.
Unfortunately, the GAP also mentions that S. 274 does not contain five critical reforms passed in March by the U.S. House of Representatives in H.R. 985, co-sponsored by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA). The House-passed reforms include protection for national security whistleblowers at the FBI and intelligence agencies, protection for government contractors, protection for federal baggage screeners, jury trials for a fair day in court, and reinforced protections for federally-funded scientists. The House passed H.R. 985 by a 331-94 vote, a veto-proof majority, despite a threat to veto the legislation issued by the Bush administration the day prior to the vote.

All things considered we have made progress with this new legislation. Let's see if Congress can continue to work together and do what is right in regards to this whistleblower legislation that aims at protecting our brave citizens that come forward and report fraud against their employers.

We're counting on our elected officials to make this a reality so that whistleblower rights can be enforced and protected.

CPSC Reform Act of 2007 with Whistleblower protections receives positive vote from Senate Committee

Juliet@LaBovick.com (LaBovick Law) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 08:19:38 -0500

Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation voted to approve S. 2045, The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act of 2007. This bill will revamp the federal standards on consumer products and will incorporate whistleblower language that protects employees who speak out on consumer safety violations against their employers. Once passed, this new law would prohibit manufacturers, distributors, and retailers from retaliating against employees who report violations of consumer safety laws.

Stephen M. Kohn, President of the National Whistleblower Center, states "Whistleblower protections for employees who report violations of consumer product safety standards are absolutely critical. If courageous employees can't report violations without fear of retribution, especially in overseas factories, then the American people may not know about dangerous or defective products until it is too late".

Leaders and supporters of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) are among the group of supporters of S. 2045, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007. The GAP Legislative Director, Adam Miles, adds that "With the recent import scares and the holiday season approaching, adding consumer product safety protections to this list couldn't be happening at a better time."

Mr. Miles and Mr. Kohn are absolutely correct in their assessment of the Bill. It is great to know that we have consumer and employee rights champions on such important issues. There are two key Senators that need to be acknowledged for their efforts in this legislation, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR). Their tireless and valiant efforts will help make a difference in the improvement in the CPSC and provide safety measures to protect Whistleblowers. According to Senator McCaskill, “We may get the lead out of the whistles, but if we don’t protect the people that are blowing the whistles, we’re not going to get the information we need”.

The next step is to get the S. 2045, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007 passed by the entire Senate. All eyes are on the Senate.

Washington Whistleblower Week kicks off May 14 - 18

Juliet@LaBovick.com (LaBovick Law) — Sat, 12 May 2007 14:58:24 -0500

Monday begins the kickoff of the Washington Whistleblower Week, which runs from May 14 - May 18. The Government Accountability Project (GAP), 45 national public interest groups and hundreds of whistleblowers from around the country will be in Washington for this event.

We will share the latest news from Washington with you on this site: ww.whistleblowerlawblog.com

Stay tuned for major decisions and discussions from key players on new whistleblower legislation.

Click Here for more information from the Government Accountability Project (GAP) on a listing of events.