Federal employees can be left out of meetings, berated and subjected to general unprofessional conduct by management after shining a light on wrongdoing and still not be entitled to whistleblower protections, a panel tasked with enforcing those laws has ruled.
The newly fully constituted Merit Systems Protection Board issued a key, precedent-setting decision in Skarada v. Veterans Affairs Department with broad implications for civil service protections. In a boon to whistleblowers, the board reiterated that it will take a broad definition of whistleblower reprisal to protect federal workers who shed a light on wrongdoing. Potential retaliatory actions by management must be examined both collectively and individually, said the board, which just this month received its third and final Senate-confirmed member to its central panel. Though the actions in this case did not reach the threshold for retaliation, the board said that in other instances a series of smaller actions could potentially add up to retaliation.
Timothy Skarada, a supervisory physical therapist at the Veterans Affairs Department, alleged in 2013 and 2014 his supervisor was impaired while providing care for a patient. He said he subsequently faced reprisal including his chain of command not communicating with him, excluding him from meetings, subjecting him to frivolous investigations and creating a hostile work environment.
The board, however, found that the post-disclosure actions Skarada faced did not...
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