Following are key sections from a Congressional Research Service report providing an overview of Whistleblower Protection Act protections for federal employees and potential changes in the law.
The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 (WPA or the Act) protects most federal civil service employees who disclose government illegality, waste, and corruption from adverse personnel actions. The WPA, which amended the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, prohibits retaliation against federal employees who act as whistleblowers. The WPA was amended by the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act in 2012.
The employment retaliation protections of the WPA are available only when certain elements are satisfied. To trigger the application of the protections, an individual must be a covered employee under the Act, the covered employee must make a protected disclosure, and a personnel action must have been taken because of that protected disclosure.
In general, the WPA covers current employees, former employees, and applicants for employment to positions in the executive branch of the government. The WPA protects a disclosure of information that a covered employee reasonably believes evidences behavior of “a violation of any law, rule, or regulation” or “gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.” The WPA prohibits employees with authority over government personnel from retaliating against a...
The income tax department has initiated a nationwide verification operation targeting fraudulent claims of deductions and exemptions in I-T returns. This action follows the discovery of organized r...