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

Today, the National Whistleblowers Center and the No FEAR Coalition announced their support for the immediate passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) for federal employee whistleblowers.  The decision to support the Senate version (S. 743) of the WPEA came after the Senate removed a final poison pill from the bill. 

Last week, the Senate removed the controversial summary judgment provision from the WPEA. The provision would have given the Administrative Judges of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) the power to summarily dismiss whistleblower cases without a hearing. The NWC, No FEAR Coalition and other whistleblower groups argued that the summary judgment provision would be harmful to federal employees by radically increasing costs for whistleblowers, undermining their ability to reach settlements, and delaying final decisions. A prior blog posting provides a more thorough analysis of the dangers of the summary judgment provision.

Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, acknowledged that "the revised Senate bill (S. 743) is far from what federal employees were promised, but it is finally a step forward." He encouraged Congress to immediately pass the WPEA and promised that the NWC would continue working to improve protections for all federal employee whistleblowers. 

Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, President of the No FEAR Coalition and member of the NWC Board of Directors, stated that the "summary judgment provisions of Senate bill (S.743) would have seriously undermined the due process provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act."  Dr. Coleman-Adebayo explained, "The MSPB has a long history of victimizing federal employees who seek justice by ruling nearly 97% in favor of federal agencies" and that giving MSPS summary judgment "would have been the death nail for any semblance of justice." She urged civil rights and whistleblower groups to support the WPEA and continue working together to improve federal employee whistleblower protections.   

For more information about the legislative history of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act please read the NWC’s position statement. 

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Tune in today at 1:00pm EDT to Honesty Without Fear on Progressive Radio Network.

In the first half hour, guest host Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo interviews Glen Ford, Executive Editor of the Black Agenda Report and host of Black Agenda Radio, about his recent article, “Occupy Wall Street Joins Occupy The Dream: Is It Cooptation, or Growing the Movement?”

In the second segment, Marsha interviews Dr. Margaret Flowers, a Congressional Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program and organizer of Occupy Washington, DC. Hear about the parallels between the Occupy Movement and the Civil Rights Movement championed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Would Dr. King have supported the Occupiers? Also, learn about how Occupy Washington, DC has been supporting whistleblowers with demonstrations at EPA and for PFC Bradley Manning.

You can take action to improve protections for whistleblowers by signing the petition.

Submit Your Question to be asked on air during the show or call in to 1-888-874-4888.

Missed last week's episode?? You can listen to the podcast.

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Activists from Occupy Washington DC on Freedom Plaza marched to the headquarters of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday. Billed as "Occupy EPA," the event called on the EPA to do its job to protect Americans from toxic pollution.

The march had a decidedly pro-whistleblower theme as we marched from Freedom Plaza to EPA headquarters. Led by Dr. Margaret Flowers, marchers chanted, "Hey hey, NO FEAR, blow the whistle at EPA." With EPA whistleblower Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, we blew whistles and passed out cards to passersby. The cards asked, "Do you know something that could save a life or help the planet? Do you want to report it?" The cards then provided links to whistleblower web sites, including that of the National Whistleblowers Center. The marchers rallied on Federal Triangle, in front of the office of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. There, Dr. Coleman-Adebayo led us in reading the text of the NO FEAR Act.

Supporters plan to march to the EPA and rally on Wednesdays. Meet at 12 noon at Freedom Plaza, 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. For more photos, follow the link to the continuation of this blog post.

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NWC's Board of Director member Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo was interviewed by Travis Smiley last night on PBS about her book NO FEAR: A Whistleblower's Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at EPA.  

Watch Author Marsha Coleman-Adebayo on PBS. See more from TAVIS SMILEY.

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Protestors from a wide range of organizations led by Occupy DC, the No FEAR Coalition, the National Whistleblowers Center, net-We.org, Federal Alliance for Workplace Accountability, and others will demonstrate against the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, November 10 at noon.

The demonstration will gather at noon at Freedom Plaza before proceeding to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lay wreaths at EPA's door symbolizing: how EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and her Administration continues to pursue and destroy the careers of whistleblowers and victims of discrimination; the illness and deaths from upper respiratory diseases that will occur as a result of President Obama’s decision to delay smog regulations; and solidarity with South African vanadium mine workers.

Led by E.P.A. whistleblower Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, the protest is directed against the EPA for the agency’s harassment of whistleblowers and victims of discrimination. Dr. Coleman-Adebayo stated, “The Jackson Administration has actively retaliated against whistleblowers and allowed her lawyers and managers to destroy their careers preventing these ‘citizens of conscience’ from protecting the public." In addition, the protestors criticize President Obama for bowing to pressure to postpone changes to the Clean Air Act to protect Americans from smog and other dangerous pollution.

Dr. Coleman-Adabayo discussed the protest event with Dave Colapinto on yesterday's episode of Honesty Without Fear. You can listen to the recorded podcast by clicking here.

Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, who will be speaking at the demonstration, stated that, "The incestuous relationship between regulators and special interests have fundamentally undermined public safety. In today’s environment fraud is profitable. This must end. We must protect the employees who have the courage to speak up."

Please join us on Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC at 12:00 pm EST on Thursday, November 10th to help us protest the EPA’s treatment of whistleblowers.

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Tune in tomorrow at 1:00pm EDT to Honesty Without Fear on Progressive Radio Network.

In the first half hour, Dave Colapinto discusses breaking developments in Congress on the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act to strip federal employee whistleblowers of a right to jury trial. TAKE ACTION to protect federal employees.

Dave interviews EPA whistleblower Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo about her recently released book No FEAR: A Whistleblower’s Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA. The book is a first-hand account of Dr. Coleman-Adebayo’s experience as a federal employee whistleblower and the racism and sexism she faced trying to protect the lives of South African miners.

In the second half hour, Eric M. Gutiérrez, Legislative & Public Policy Director for the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), will be interviewed by Dave Colapinto, and Dr. Coleman-Adebayo will also join the discussion. They discuss how the Civil Rights Tax Relief Act (CRTR) addresses the excessive and unfair tax treatment of settlements and awards in employment cases.

Submit Your Question to be asked on air during the show or call in live to 1-888-874-4888.

Missed last week's episode?? You can listen to the podcast.

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We kindly ask all of our supporters to welcome Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, NWC Board Member and EPA whistleblower, as she makes her first public appearance to launch the release of her new book No Fear: A Whistleblower’s Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA.

This special book talk event will be Tuesday, October 11th at 6:30 pm at Busboys & Poets (14th and V Streets, Washington, DC). Hosts of the event are Teaching for Change, TransAfrica Forum, National Whistleblowers Center, No FEAR Coalition, Alliance for Justice in the Workplace, and USDA Minority Committee. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to nofearbbp@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you all there! It truly is a remarkable story.

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In today's Washington Post, columnist Joe Davidson says, "If the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Civil Rights were a chunk of ground, it would be declared a disaster area." Mr. Davidson recounts the findings made by Deloitte Consulting in a report released last month. He also noted the call made by the National Whistleblowers Center to oust OCR's director, Rafael DeLeon. EPA spokesperson Adora Andy told Mr. Davidson that EPA would look into our allegations about Mr. DeLeon's off-color remarks. EPA said the same thing to POLITICO on Monday. How long does it take to ask Mr. DeLeon if he called Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Ms. Susan Morris "pink elephants?" How long does it take to ask him if he chided Dr. Coleman-Adebayo for being a "Rosa Parks of the EPA" or if he referred to a lapdance at a staff party? Or, is EPA unsure if a director of the "Office of Civil Rights" should do any of these things? Joe Davidson's article could give these questions the prominence we need to get some answers soon.  Thank you, Mr. Davidson.

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Our call to Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to oust her newly appointed director of the EPA's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is gaining new media attention.

Today, the Black Agenda Report ran an article I wrote about the civil rights problems at EPA. This article is also now linked by the Coalition for Change.

Also, I appeared as a guest today on KBOO's Talk Radio with Lisa Loving in Portland, Oregon.  KBOO promotes this show saying:

Marsha Coleman Adebayo has protested racism within the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Civil Rights -- can you believe it? -- and finally the agency says it's investigating. Have you ever tried to draw attention to a big, bad situation in your workplace? Whistleblowers--how they impact your life and what they risk in coming forward. My guest this morning on Kboo 90.7 FM is Richard Renner, legal director of the National Whistleblowers Center. That's Wednesday morning at 8 am on kboo.fm, Portland.

This episode is now available as an mp3 file through KBOO's podcast. The talk show format gave me an opportunity to talk about many of NWC's activities, and our new book, The Whistleblower's Handbook. Notice in the final quarter of the call-in show how I confused Bradley Manning with Bradley Birkenfeld.

Hopefully, this growing public attention to an OCR director who does the opposite of civil rights will prompt EPA leadership to respond positively to our call, and soon.

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POLITICO reporter Robin Bravender released a story on Friday saying that EPA spokesperson Brendan Gilfillan promised that EPA would "look into" the allegations of the open letter the National Whistleblowers Center released last week. Gilfillan told Bravender that Jackson is “deeply committed to issues of environmental justice, civil rights and a healthy workplace for all.” NWC's open letter alleges that Rafael DeLeon, director of EPA's Office of Civil Rights, made a series of offensive remarks. These remarks called Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Susan Morris "pink elephants." Bravender reports that this term "was popularized by Sarah Palin, who used it to refer to a stampede of women outraged about policies in Washington." NWC also alleges that DeLeon said Dr. Coleman-Adebayo  held herself out like the "Rosa Parks of EPA," and that he referred to a lapdance at an office party.

Dr. Coleman-Adebayo is an environmental whistleblower who raised concerns about the dangers of vanadium mining in South Africa. When her concerns focused on the role of U.S. companies in apartheid South Africa she became the victim of a hostile work environment. Ms. Morris raised concerns about EPA’s compliance with the Civil Rights Act and then suffered a removal from her supervisory position.

Bravender interviewed Dr. Coleman-Adebayo about her experience working for DeLeon. Dr. Coleman-Adebayo reported that her transfer to DeLeon's office was essential a set up to be discharged.  Dr. Coleman-Adebayo is writing a book about her experiences at the EPA. Called, “No Fear: A Whistleblower's Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA,” it is due in September.

Bravender reports that when Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), released the Deloitte Consulting report which finds problems with OCR, she praised DeLeon for his "energy and experience." Jackson appointed DeLeon to direct OCR last December.

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