Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

The governor of Ohio and an attorney working for Ohio's Bureau of Workers Compensation are disagreeing about what is a "typical whistleblower situation." According to the Columbus Dispatch, attorney Joseph Sommer sent an email to the Governor last May. He asked for an official state investigation of why a state panel had not complied with a state law requiring nominations for the Industrial Commission within sixty (60) days of a vacancy. Sommer used the state's email account to send his email. Instead of investigating the state's nominating panel, the state investigated Sommer for using his work email account.  The state has now issued a reprimand to Sommer for communication that was less than "professional." Sommer is contesting it.  The Governor's office says that Sommer's case, "differs from a typical whistle-blower situation." I don't know.  An employee points out how superior officials are breaking the law, and the boss blames the messenger.  That sounds pretty typical to me. The boss says that the whistleblower didn't use the proper means for raising the concern.  That sounds pretty typical, too. The boss punishes the whistleblower.  Typical again. Sommer may benefit from following the Supreme Court's consideration of City of Ontario v. Quon. The issue there is whether employees can have any expectation of privacy in using work equipment to communicate. Also, it is ironic to have a state claiming that the whistleblower communication was personal and didn't belong on the work computer. That argument could support Sommer if he were to claim that his email was made in his personal capacity and protected under Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006).

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Last September, EEOC Investigator Ricardo Jones told The Black Star News that, “The EEOC is not investigating African-American complaints from New York to North Carolina.” At the time, Black Star News writer Donald Winfield predicted that the EEOC would fire Jones.  Now that prediction is coming true. Days before Thanksgiving, the EEOC placed Jones on administrative leave -- the omen of impending discharge. Jones is preparing to appeal his separation.

Firing a civil rights whistleblower on the eve of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday adds irony to an already sad tale of retaliation.  Many whistleblowers of color depend on the EEOC to protect their rights, especially in the federal service were whistleblowers do not normally have access to trials by jury. To hear that EEOC would fire Jones after he accused the agency of failing to do its job weakens the cause of ending discrimination through the administrative process.

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The California Court of Appeals for the Fourth Appellate District has ruled this week that a lower court erred, for the second time, in dismissing a lawsuit brought by David Ohton, a strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State University (SDSU). In 2003, Ohton had filed an official report detailing NCAA violations, drunkenness and other misconduct by the school's athletic officials. He provided the information to a state auditor. One of those officials got the report and distributed it to the other accused officials. Thereafter, the football coach made hostile statements about him, reduced his duties, and changed his hours to 6 am to 2 pm. The audit led to the ouster of three athletic officials, Sing-On San Diego reports.

University officials concluded that Ohton's complaint was not made in "good faith" because it was "hearsay and fully refuted." The Court made clear that "good faith is properly determined based on whether the complainant believed it was true or had reason to believe it was true at the time it was made."

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A court in Rangoon, Burma, has sentenced two government employees to death for leaking information about official visits to North Korea and Russia. The Democratic Voice of Burma reports that Win Naing Kyaw and Thura Kyaw now face execution. The All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) called the death sentences “cruel” and “political” acts by the government that “will not solve the basic problems faced by the nation.”

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The federal government has released a new poster that employers have to post to their employees if they are receiving stimulus money. The new poster, however, is missing a few key details whistleblowers should know. For example, if a whistleblower wants to know where to file a complaint, the government's poster will only point to the generic www.recovery.com website. The poster does not tell employees that formal written complaints need to be filed with the Inspector General for the federal department that funded the employer. It does not tell whistleblowers that if they wait 210 days for the IG's final determination, they can take their case to federal court and ask for a jury trial. See Section 1553(c)(3) of the ARRA Act (p. 186 of 407). It neglects to inform them that the Act invalidates binding arbitration agreements, and they can sue even if their employer requires arbitration. Section 1553(d) (p. 187).

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Air traffic controller Ray Adams put aviation safety ahead of his own career when he blew the whistle on near misses on the runways of Newark Airport in New Jersey. NJ.com reports that when Adams raised concerns about how runway intersections at Newark posed a risk of collision, he was removed from the control tower on a false charge of failing to follow orders.  The Office of Special Counsel has now confirmed that Adams was right about the inherent dangers of Newark's runway configuration. At a Senate committee hearing last month, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) questioned Randy Babbitt, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Sen. Lautenberg expressed dismay that any air traffic controller would face threats of removal for raising a safety concern.

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