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

 
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted cert in the case of Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. Animalfeeds International Corp. The court will determine whether class arbitration is consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) when the arbitration agreement is silent on the issue. This case highlights the current legislative drive for the Arbitration Fairness Act, a proposal that would protect consumers and employees from binding mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements. The issue is particularly important to whistleblowers who often have no idea about the illegality they will confront at the time the employer requires them to sign such an agreement.

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Once again, the hearing record clearly and overwhelming proves that whistleblower reform is long overdue. There were no credible arguments presented that court access and jury trial should not be provided to all federal employees, including national security employees.
 
 

Pictured here are Angela Canterbury of Public Citizen, Prof. Robert Vaughn, William Bransford of the Senior Executive Association, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and Tom Devine of the Government Accountability Project (GAP). White House Ethics Counsel Norm Eisen is between Mr. Bransford and Sen. Akaka.

Senator Akaka (D-HI) opened the hearing by stating that “federal employee whistleblower play a crucial role in alerting Congress and the public to government wrongdoing and mismanagement, protecting our civil rights and civil liberties, helping to keep us safe, and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.”   Senator Akaka explained that the purpose of the hearing was to determine how to best protect national security whistleblowers and whether or not federal employees should be provided with jury trials.
 

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There are two new articles on the Daily Kos inspired by today's Senate committee hearing on the proposed Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA). The first, by Michael German, is called, "Why Protect Whistleblowers?" Michael is the ACLU Policy Counsel on National Security, Immigration and Privacy.  His article explains how a few whistleblowers did connect dots before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and how protecting them would enhance our national security.

Jesselyn Radack wrote the other article, called, "Whistleblower Bill Hearing Today & Why We Should Give a Damn." She concludes that federal employees, "need the right to a jury trial in federal court." Both articles are recommended reading. I notice that "Winnie" has asked what action can we take to support the Whistleblower Protection Act? For those who cannot come to Room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 2:30 pm today, I provide this link to the National Whistleblower Center Action Alert.

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The Philippine Navy has ordered whistleblower Lieutenant Nancy Gadian to appear before the military within 48 hours.  Lt. Gadian courageously blew the whistle on misuse of funds from the joint US-Phillipine Balikatan military exercises spurring a Philippine Navy probe into the alleged misuse of the funding.  However, instead of praising Lt. Gadian for her actions, the military has turned her into a target.
 

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Today the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform heard from whistleblowers, their advocates, and even an administration official about the need for convincing remedies for federal employee whistleblowers.   Committee Chair Edolphus Towns (D-NY) opened the hearing with an encouraging word about the prospects for Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA), H.R. 1507. He indicated that he had positive signs from the Senate and the administration about getting improved whistleblower protections passed this year. It remains to be seen if these protections will provide full court access, including jury trials, and coverage for national security employees, as is already provided in Title VII cases, and is now proposed in the current text of H.R. 1507. Bunny Greenhouse spoke about how the current law failed to protect her.  She added, "I am well versed in how poorly it works when it comes to federal sector whistleblower protection."  Here is a photo of Michael German (ACLU), Corinne Kohn (Friends of Whistleblowers), David Colapinto (National Whistleblowers Center), Angela Canterbury (Public Citizen) and Michael D. Kohn (National Whistleblowers Center).

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 My client Bunnatine "Bunny" Greenhouse has issued a letter to the American public asking them to support the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA). Her letter comes on the eve of her testimony tomorrow to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 10:00 am at Hearing Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

"I will be explaining how whistleblower protection is essential to deter contractor fraud and wasteful military spending," Bunny says.  The first time Bunny testified to members of Congress, she explained how Army brass pressured her to approve no-bid contracts for Halliburton, and how she objected.  After she testified, she was stripped of her position in the Army Corp of Engineers' Senior Executive Service, as the Procurement Executive. Here is a photo of Bunny, with her lawyers, Michael D. Kohn and David Colapinto.

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In Britain, Margaret Haywood’s whistleblowing became a hot issue again last week after the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) decided that her secrete filming was a “major breach” of the nursing code of conduct.   Ms. Haywood, a nurse at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Bringhton, secretly filmed neglectful behavior of nurses toward elderly patients in the hospital.  The purpose of her film was to inform the public about how badly the nurses treated their patients.  A social investigative TV program in BBC, Panorama, aired her film in July 2005.

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Earlier today the Senate rejected an amendment to the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (S.386), which would limit the amount a whistleblower can receive from recoveries under the False Claims Act.  Currently judges can award whistleblowers up to 30 percent of the total recovery for the government.  The amendment would have limited the whistleblower reward to $50 million.  Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy opposed the amendment noting that the False Claims Act is “very well balanced the way it is, with a judge having to make a final decision on the award.” 

Now the Senate is voting on the remaining amendments to the anti-fraud legislation, which could pass as early as this afternoon.  We will keep you up to date on the latest developments. 
 

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Here is an update to our earlier posting on S. 386.

The Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy to the Senate on Monday, April 20th stating that the Obama Administration “strongly supports enactment of S. 386.”  The statement explained that the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 386) would “benefit U.S. taxpayers by both addressing existing fraud and deterring waste, fraud, and abuse of public funds.”  It also pointed out that the bill would “amend the False Claims Act (FCA) in several important respects so that the FCA remains a potent and useful weapon against the misuse of taxpayer funds.”

Notably, the statement supporting the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act is the only statement the Office of Management and Budget has sent to the Senate since the beginning of the Obama Administration.

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On Monday, Senator Grassley (R-IA) expressed his support for the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 386) saying “we simply cannot allow unscrupulous individuals to defraud the government and rip off taxpayers.” The bill provides new tools for the federal government to fight fraud and makes much needed amendments to the Federal False Claims Act.

Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers bring lawsuits against companies who defraud the federal government. As a reward for their courageous actions, whistleblower receive a portion of the amount the federal government recovers.  As Senator Grassley correctly pointed out in his floor statement,  “we would not have the case or the money returned if it wasn’t for the information of the whistleblower.”  This law has been used to recover more than $22 billion since 1986 and has deterred an incalculable amount of fraud.  

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