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New Federal Guidance on Whistleblower Protections and Training

Thursday, February 22, 2018

The Office of Special Counsel has issued new training and performance standards to better protect federal employees who disclose waste, fraud, and abuse in the government. In a series of memos, U.S. Special Counsel Henry Kerner reminded agency leaders to be careful of the types of messages they are sending to employers regarding their rights as whistleblowers. “OSC strongly urges executive departments and agencies to evaluate their monitoring policies and practices and take measures to ensure that these policies and practices do not interfere with or chill employees from lawfully disclosing wrongdoing,” Kerner wrote. Specifically, Kerner’s memo reminded agency leaders that their employees have the right to disclose information to Congress without fear of reprisal. “Monitoring an employee’s communications, including emails, computer files or conversations, simply because the employee made or may make a protected disclosure has a chilling effect on these lawful activities,” the memo read. New guidance also requires agency leaders ensure new hires are trained on their whistleblower rights and remedies within the first 180 days of their jobs. Additionally, agencies must also train supervisors annually on how to respond to complaints coming from whistleblowers.

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