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

Administrative judge Franklin Kang issued the decision. In 2007, Judge Kang ruled in favor of federal employees ZERO times in 71 cases. In 2008, federal employees prevailed ZERO times out of 68 cases. (Thank you to Charlotte Yee and the Project on government Oversight for sharing this information.)

This deplorable decision only further highlights the need for full court access for all federal employees, especially those who risk their careers to protect our safety and national security. As we have written before, the MSPB has consistently failed to protect federal employee whistleblowers, and Robert MacLean is one of many who have gone before the MSPB seeking justice, but come up empty handed.

There is legislation pending in Congress that can change this system. The House version of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 1507) contains provisions that would grant federal employees access to federal court and jury trials.

Robert MacLean will appeal the administrative judge’s ruling, and continue his fight for reinstatement and justice. We hope he prevails. We also hope the law will change so that national security whistleblowers will have access to the same customary justice that car accident victims have – jury trials.

To take action now and send a letter of support for Robert MacLean & H.R. 1507, click here.

*Meryl Grenadier (NWC Fellow) drafted this post.

One of the issues addressed by the MSPB was whether a disclosure of information that is Sensitive Security Information (SSI) can be a disclosure protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act.  MacLean argued that the exclusion from whistleblower protection for disclosures that are “prohibited by law or Executive Order” only applies to disclosures not allowed by “statutes and court interpretations of statutes.”  He argued that since the retroactive prohibition on disclosing the information was only an agency regulation, not a law, he was entitled to whistleblower protection.  Unfortunately, the MSPB did not agree with MacLean.    The MSPB found that a “disclosure in violation of the regulations governing SSI” is within the meaning of “prohibited by law” and “thus cannot give rise to whistleblower protection.”

It is outrageous that the MSPB has one again failed to protect a federal employee who was simply safeguarding the health and safety of all Americans.  Federal employees who already risk their careers to expose threats to public health and safety now risk having their agency retroactively relabel their disclosure and strip them of what little whistleblower protection they do have.  As stated by NWC Executive Director, “it is deplorable that the men and women on the front lines of the war against terrorism who are trying to prevent the next 9/11 get such shabby treatment under the law.”

This decision is exactly why Congress needs to pass amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act (H.R. 1507) giving all federal employees court access and a right to a jury trials.  Federal employees, including national security employees, need to have the option to appeal the MSPB decision.

Please read the statement of the NWC on the MacLean decision by clicking here.

Please check back for a link to the NWC Action Alert.