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The MSPB has issued a notice seeking input on the scope of protections for federal employees against reprisal for cooperating with investigations by an agency inspector general or the Office of Special Counsel.
There is only “limited precedent” on that portion of whistleblower protection law, and a case currently pending before the board presents an opportunity to better define it, says a notice in the April 19 Federal Register that includes instructions for submissions.
It said questions include whether protections extend to:
* an employee’s informal complaints of a climate of sexual harassment made to her supervisors and others (but not through the equal employment opportunity process) on behalf of herself and other employees;
* activities that are protected under EEO law; and
* an informal discussion with someone from the kind of agency component that might conduct investigations, or a formal interview with someone who is appointed as a fact finder but is not otherwise part of a formal investigatory office or component within an agency.
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