AP: Ex-Whistleblower Pleads Guilty
Scott Bloch, former head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) – the office mandated to ensure the implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) for government employees – pled guilty to injury of government property this week and now faces up to six months in jail. This marks the second time Bloch has pled guilty to deleting files on his government computer in 2006 while he was under investigation for discriminating against OSC staff members and refusing to investigate certain complaints.
GAP released a statement in 2011, urging the Office of Personnel Management investigating Bloch’s case to release their findings.
The Daily Journal: County Passes Whistleblower Ordinance
The Board of Supervisors for California’s San Mateo County have unanimously approved a whistleblower ordinance that will allocate funding toward a website, hotline and whistleblower training for county employees. According to the county supervisor, the ordinance will restore the public’s faith in the county government.
Transparency International: They Took Lavish Foreign “Research” Trips: Whistleblowing in Japan
Despite whistleblower laws that protect only senior government officials and company managers, the number of whistleblowers in Japan is growing. The director of Transparency International in Japan shares stories from early in her career when she was appalled by the ‘research’ trips taken by senior managers and watching her co-workers play tennis during the workday.
Missourinet: Lawmakers Debate So-called ‘Whistleblower Protection Act’
As a Missouri House committee debates signing a whistleblower protection bill into law, it is clear that some Missouri representatives continue to be unwilling to accept legislation that offers full protection to whistleblowers.
The House shows a particular disinterest in protecting whistleblowers that report wrongdoing to someone other than a pre-defined authority figure such as a human resources representative or police officer. This means that if a whistleblower brings their claim to an independent party – the media, for example – they are not protected from employer retaliation.
Jack Davis is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
