The OSC will begin requiring that agencies participating in its whistleblower protection certification program promote the day as part of those requirements. Image: JC_STOCKER/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe Office of Special Counsel has urged Congress to make Whistleblower Appreciation Day a permanent part of the calendar, “to reinforce the longstanding bipartisan consensus that whistleblowers serve an invaluable role in our government.”
“What better way to demonstrate to the world that the United States government is a model employer—one not afraid to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse from within—than to permanently recognize the contributions of these courageous civil servants each year,” the OSC said in a letter to House and Senate leaders of both parties.
“By dedicating a day to these brave public servants, we not only honor the contributions of current whistleblowers, but we show potential whistleblowers that their sacrifices will not go unnoticed or unappreciated,” it said.
For about the last 10 years, July 30 has been observed as Whistleblower Appreciation Day under resolutions sponsored by Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Wash., leaders of the Senate whistleblower protection caucus. The letter urged enactment of a similar resolution this year if legislation cannot be enacted by then.
The letter also said that the OSC will begin requiring that agencies participating in its whistleblower protection certification program promote the day as part of those requirements.
The OSC in recent months also has been raising attention to requirements that agencies disclose in any non-disclosure type agreements they impose on employees that those restrictions do not override their rights to make whistleblowing disclosures.
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