BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Whistleblowers help to improve varying levels of governmental systems by identifying waste, fraud and abuse within the system. However, they are often met with hostility and even punishment for speaking out.
Taxpayers Protection Alliance's David Williams spoke with Fox45 News to discuss the importance of whistleblowers and the need to expand whistleblower protections.
"They're the lifeblood of the government and telling us when things are going wrong inside a government," Williams said.
Whistleblower retaliation was a feature in reports that Baltimore County school buses with broken parts were passing inspection.
Former Baltimore County Schools bus mechanic Paul Sauer spoke anonymously about the inspections with Fox45 in Nov. 2021. He was soon identified after schools officials reviewed surveillance footage showing him crawling under buses to get pictures and videos, which were later given to Fox45 News.
As punishment, Sauer says he spent two months in what is known as "the warehouse," where Baltimore County school employees are sent when they are the focus of internal investigations. Despite only being given minimal work, Sauer says he sat there for eight hours a day.
Protecting whistleblowers is a bipartisan issue, according to Williams.
"Lives and money are at stake here," he said. "We're talking about billions of savings for taxpayers, but also we're talking about the lives that can be saved."
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