Because of the nature of the agency’s work, FBI employees are excluded from many of the normal whistleblower protections for federal workers but even the limited rights that do apply have shortcomings, GAO has found.
It looked at 62 whistleblower retaliation complaints filed against the FBI in 2009-2013 and then reviewed by the parent Justice Department, finding that corrective action was ordered in just three cases. Of the total, 44 were decided within one year but 15 took up to four years and at least one took more than 10 years.
Many of the cases terminated were dropped because they didn’t meet certain standards, such as one requiring that disclosures be made to certain officials designated to receive them, rather than to someone in the employee’s own chain of command.
“By dismissing potentially legitimate complaints in this way, DoJ could deny some whistleblowers access to recourse, permit retaliatory activity to go uninvestigated, and create a chilling effect for future whistleblowers,” GAO said, adding that guidance to employees is not clear on that issue.
It said that Justice has reviewed that policy and has recommended adding more officials to receive disclosures, but not all supervisors. GAO also said that complainants should be kept better informed through the process regarding when a decision is expected, and that the department should better monitor investigators’ compliance with policies.