The Courier-Mail (Australia): Public Servants Exposed Behaving Badly Under New Whistleblower Laws
Summary: Hundreds of Australian public employees are facing misconduct allegations since the country’s new whistleblower laws – including a whistleblower hotline – went into effect a year ago. More than 370 allegations were made in the first six months since its inception, from selling self-distilled alcohol at work to sharing official police information with drug dealers.
KPHO (Phoenix): Feds Say Phoenix PD Retaliated Against Kidnapping Stats Whistleblower
Summary: A new report from the US Department of Justice Inspector General says that an investigation of a Phoenix police officer who accused his department of inflating kidnapping statistics was unjust retaliation. Another IG report is expected later this month.
BoingBoing: Bush-Era Whistleblower Faced Even More Intense Harassment Under Obama
Summary: This short blog post highlights the persecution faced by GAP’s Jesselyn Radack when she – as a Department of Justice lawyer – blew the whistle on the John Walker Lindh case. It also links to her acceptance speech for the Sam Adams award, in which she details the Obama administration’s attack on national security whistleblowers.
Silicon India: US Singles Out India by Denying L1 Visas
Summary: Since an American employee of Indian tech giant Infosys blew the whistle on the company’s abuse of short-term work visas, the US has been declining specific work visas for many Indian professionals. Now, Infosys and several other IT firms are strengthening their immigration and legal departments.
The whistleblower filed suit against the company in early 2011 after his internal complaints were ignored. This suit sparked a major US federal criminal investigation.
Reuters: Wife’s Dollar Trade Puts Pressure on Swiss Bank Head
Summary: A Swiss bank employee was fired after he exposed that the bank head's wife allegedly used her husband’s position for her own gain.
Summary: The FDA announced yesterday that a limit on one type of antibiotic given to animals raised for food will go into effect in April. The drug, cephalosporins, is not as widely used on livestock as other antibiotics, however, and public health advocates say more action is needed to fight the threat of antibiotic resistance.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
