The Office of Special Counsel is “scrambling” to cut
its workload of whistleblower cases and plans to bring
in summer interns to get rid of hundreds of cases,
according to the Project on Government Oversight,
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
and other whistleblower groups, faulting special
counsel Scott Bloch for controversial staff
reassignments when he took over.
Since Bloch took over, OSC has closed more than
1,000 whistleblower disclosures and complaints
without investigation, according to POGO, and its
executive director, Danielle Brian, said,
“Disturbingly, the Special Counsel appears to be
now focused on getting rid of all the remaining cases.”
Bloch ordered dozens of investigators to and
attorneys to move to Dallas and Detroit when he was
appointed to the post, and seven that declined are
being forced to resign, the groups assert.
According to POGO, OSC minutes posted on its
intranet show the office trying to close out as
many cases as possible before employees that refused
reassignment leave, and discuss brining in summer
interns to assist in getting cases closed.
In an earlier letter to congressional leaders, POGO
accused Bloch of leading an effort to “purge” the
OSC of dissent and replace it with “hand picked
loyalists.”
The letter — delivered to the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – says
those selected for transfer had questioned OSC
management strategy or practices made by Bloch,
according the American Federation of Government
Employees.
An OSC press release dated Jan. 7, says a “decision
was made to enhance field operations and power down
from a D.C.-centric based operation,” but only
following, “extensive discussions with staff and
an outside assessment team’s review of the agency
structure and organization.”
The National Treasury Employees Union warned, “the
so-called reorganization under which the transfers
are being ordered would, for the first time, have
the OSC unit responsible for dealing with
enforcement of the Hatch Act reporting to a
political appointee rather than a career senior
executive.”
