The Office of the Special Counsel received a record 6,251 new cases in 2024. That includes 1,757 new disclosures from federal whistleblowers.
Justin Doubleday@jdoubledayWFED
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is warning Congress it may need more staff to manage a steep increase in federal whistleblower complaints and other cases.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel reports receiving 6,251 new cases in fiscal 2024, a new record for the independent agency. By the end of 2024, OSC’s active inventory had increased by more than 400 cases.
“This caseload increase, while a positive for federal employees’ awareness of OSC, threatens to increase the number of active cases that OSC carries over to the following fiscal year,” Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger writes in the special counsel’s latest annual report to Congress.
“Should caseloads continue to increase, which we anticipate, OSC will require additional resources in future years,” Dellinger adds.
OSC is an independent agency charged with protecting federal employee rights and safeguarding the merit system. It investigates allegations of prohibited personnel practices, including whistleblower retaliation. The office also upholds the Hatch Act’s prohibition on partisan political activities. And it protects returning service members and reservists from employment retaliation.
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