Reuters: Tribunal Finds UN Chief Ban Failed Whistleblower
Summary: More coverage on the UN whistleblower who was vindicated by the UN Dispute Tribunal. The Tribunal ruled that Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the ethics office had failed to protect the whistleblower, who suffered retaliation for reporting corruption at the UN operation in Kosovo.
Key Quote: The ruling "sends a message to the Ethics Office that the judges in the new U.N. internal justice system are monitoring it and that they will not tolerate failures to properly apply the U.N. whistleblower-protection policy," said the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit whistleblower watchdog.
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GAP found that the Ethics Office has dealt with nearly 300 complaints of retaliation since it was created in 2006. A prima facie case of retaliation was found in about 2.7 percent of those cases, but relief was only recommended in one case.
"So 99.7 percent of U.N. staff members who sought protection under the Secretariat's whistleblower protection policy were ultimately not protected from retaliation," said Shelley Walden, GAP's international program officer.
Chicken Plant Whistleblower to Receive $50,000 After Termination
Summary: Pilgrim's Pride – the second largest U.S. chicken producer – agreed to pay $50,000 to a whistleblower the company fired for reporting environmental violations. GAP's Food Integrity Campaign explains why this is a rare victory for employees blowing the whistle in the poultry industry.
Press TV: White House Trying to Jail Torture Whistleblower
Summary: This article details how the White House is trying to jail torture whistleblower John Kiriakou, the sixth person charged for whistleblower activities by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act. Kiriakou, a former CIA agent, was one of the first to denounce the Bush administration’s “enhanced interrogation” techniques publicly. The article collected quotes about his case, including one from GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack.
Key Quote: “They are going after someone who blew the whistle on torture and waterboarding,” said Jesselyn Radack, national security and human rights director at the Government Accountability Project, which represents whistleblowers, “while at the same time, the people who wrote the memos and issued the orders and carried out the torture are being covered up, and get a pass.”
Wall Street Journal: Judge Says Anti-Retaliation Provisions Don’t Cover Foreign Whistleblowers
Summary: A federal judge ruled last week that whistleblower protection provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act don’t protect claims made abroad. A GE representative in Iraq had sued the company in February, alleging that he had been fired for voicing concerns that the company had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Associated Press: Israeli Journalist Reaches Plea Bargain with State
Summary: An Israeli journalist who was facing indictment for reporting classified information given to him by a military whistleblower has now reached a plea bargain with the government that includes no jail time. The whistleblower that gave the reporter the documents was previously sentenced to four years.
KPHO CBS 5 (AZ): Goodyear Whistleblower’s Lawsuit Upheld
Summary: A former Goodyear, Arizona victim advocate filed a whistleblower suit against the city and her supervisors after she was allegedly fired for voicing concerns that a police officer may have been involved in the hit-and-run death of a young man and the department tried to cover it up. A judge recently ruled that parts of the lawsuit can go forward.
Associated Press: NC Lawmakers Protect Insurance Whistleblowers
Summary: The North Carolina state legislature has passed a whistleblower protection bill for those reporting wrongdoing in the State Health Plan. This comes after a hospital sued a former employee who had reported excessive taxpayer charges to the state auditor.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
