Employees and contractors who have information regarding serious wrongdoing or gross mismanagement may disclose that information to a supervisor, a senior EAC official, the Office of Special Counsel, or OIG without fear of reprisal.
Reporting Retaliation
If you believe that you are being retaliated against for making a disclosure of serious wrongdoing or gross mismanagement, you may file a complaint with OIG.
OIG decides whether to investigate the matter, refer it to a more appropriate agency for action, or decline to investigate.
Note: OIG does not have the authority to investigate equal employment opportunity matters or Hatch Act violations. If you have a complaint regarding equal employment opportunity matters, contact EAC’s EEO Officer. If you have a complaint regarding a Hatch Act violation, contact the Office of Special Counsel.
Read More about Whistleblower Rights
The Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8)) protects federal employees and applicants for employment who lawfully disclose information they reasonably believe evidences:
- a violation of any law, rule or regulation by EAC, its employees or its contractors
- gross mismanagement
- gross waste of funds
- a false claim made against the EAC
- an overpayment by the EAC to a contractor
- abuse of authority
- substantial and specific danger to public health and safety
Under the WPA, certain federal employees may not take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take; any personnel action against an employee or applicant for employment because of the employee or applicant’s protected whistleblowing.
The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (WPEA) amended the Whistleblower Protection Act and strengthened protections for federal employees who report fraud, waste, and abuse. It:
- Clarified the scope of protected disclosures.
- Protected disclosures that an employee reasonably believes are evidence of censorship related to research, analysis, or technical information that causes, or will cause, a gross government waste or gross mismanagement, an abuse of authority, a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or any violation of law.
- Expanded the penalties imposed for violating whistleblower protections.
- Established a Whistleblower Protection Ombudsman in certain OIGs for a 5-year period.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. Its primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices (PPPs), especially reprisal for whistleblowing.
Read more here:
Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPPs): Lists the 14 prohibitions.
Your Rights as a Federal Employee: Describes the 14 prohibited personnel practices and what you can do if you believe a PPP as been committed.
Your Rights When Reporting Wrongs: Describes the process for making a disclosure to OSC.
Disclosures of Wrongdoing: Identifies the six types of wrongdoing that can be disclosed to OSC and outlines OSC’s process for handling disclosures.
Whistleblower Retaliation: Describes whistleblower retaliation, protected disclosures, protected activity and what to do if you believe whistleblower retaliation has occurred.