Fedweek

The House Veterans Affairs Committee has held a hearing at which members pushed a separate plan to mandate disciplinary actions against federal employees, in this case VA managers and executives who retaliate against whistleblowers. The Office of Special Counsel, which has receives and investigates allegations of retaliation, told the panel that despite resolving about 50 cases at VA, it has more than 100 still open and that complaints are still coming in. Several whistleblowers also testified regarding their experiences, leading committee members to criticize the agency for not holding those responsible for the retaliation accountable. A bill (HR-571) before the committee would require that on a first offense, an employee who is found to have engaged in retaliation would have to receive a penalty of between a 14-day suspension and removal and would be ineligible for a performance award; on a second offense, such a person would be fired. In addition, the department would assess the offending employee a fee to cover the government’s costs in defending him or her against the charge of retaliation. The bill also requires that any supervisor who receives a whistleblower-type complaint would have to determine within two days where there is a reasonable likelihood that the complaint discloses a violation or law or rule, a waste of funds, an abuse of authority or a danger to public safety or health, and to take action. Failure to take action would be included in the supervisor’s performance appraisal. Like other bills targeting the VA in the wake of the scandal, the whistleblower retaliation bill is widely seen as setting a potential precedent for applying similar policies in other agencies.