Two bills to expand whistleblower protections for federal employees have been introduced by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, one of the chamber’s leading advocates for whistleblowers.
One bill, S-4099, addresses a provision of law requiring that federal agency nondisclosure policies, forms and agreements must notify employees of their continued right to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress, an inspector general or the Office of Special Counsel.
That would close what Grassley called a loophole in that law by specifying that the provision covers employees of government corporations such as the FDIC and Ex-Im Bank.
The other, S-4100, addresses whistleblower protections related to “duty speech” disclosures by employees whose official duties involve investigating and disclosing wrongdoing.
The MSPB and courts have ruled that they have a heightened burden to prove “actual” retaliation in a retaliation claim, rather than the lower standard for other employees that their disclosure was a “contributing factor” in an agency action against them.
The bill would specify that the lower standard of contributing factor applies to duty speech whistleblowers.
Numerous reports by agency inspectors general have found agencies not in full compliance with the anti-gag provisions even among agencies specifically subject to it. The U.S. Supreme Court last fall rejected a request to hear an appeal of the current precedent on standards of proof regarding duty speech.
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