Summary: A federal judge is allowing a whistleblower suit accusing a for-profit education company of using improper sales tactics to proceed. According to the suit, which is backed by the Department of Justice, Education Managment Corp. illegally paid recruiters to sign up unqualified students for financial aid. Recruiters would drastically overstate the career placement opportunities and “prey on applicants’ psychological vulnerabilities” to lure students (and the government financial aid money they would bring).
NSA Circles the Wagons: Refuses to Return Whistleblowers’ Computers Seized in 2007
Summary: GAP’s Jesselyn Radack looks at the NSA’s steadfast refusal to give back the personal computers of agency whistleblowers, including several GAP clients. The agency claims that any property the NSA still has would be classified.
Washington Post: Taking Air Safety Complaints Seriously
Summary: In this editorial, the Washington Post calls out the FAA for its “pattern of disregard for whistleblower complaints” and praises the efforts of the Office of Special Counsel in raising awareness of these issues.
Atlantic Wire: F-22 Whistleblower Pilots Get a Chance for Vindication
Summary: Air Force whistleblower pilots were vindicated recently when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta involved himself in the issue surrounding defective oxygen systems in F-22 fighter jets. Panetta ordered the Air Force to poll all F-22 pilots to see if there is a consensus that the planes should be grounded due to the faulty oxygen systems.
Courier-Journal (KY): Former KFC Yum! Center Supervisor Sues Kentucky State Fair Board
Summary: A former supervisor of the KFC Yum! Center, a stadium in Louisville, has filed a whistleblower suit against the Kentucky State Fair Board, alleging that he was fired after reporting illegal conduct of board employees. This is one of two recent whistleblower suits accusing the board of wrongful termination.
Mass Device: Whistleblower Accuses Medtronic of Installing Crony in Spine Journal to Promote Infuse
Summary: A recently unsealed whistleblower suit reveals that Medtronic, a medical equipment company, illegally marketed its Infuse brand bone growth protein in an effort to “push positive data on the controversial compound.”
Newsworks: Principal Reinstated in Camden as Part of Whistleblower Suit Settlement
Summary: A high school principal in New Jersey will be reinstated and receive $860,000 in a whistleblower suit settlement. The suit had alleged that school officials were pressuring the principal to alter test scores.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
