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

On Apr 18, 2013, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced bill to extend whistleblower protections to offshore oil and gas workers. Currently there is no federal law that protects oil and gas workers if they are retaliated against after they blow the whistle on workplace health and safety violations on the Outer Continental Shelf. Workers on oilrigs like the Deepwater Horizon risk losing their jobs if they report dangerous workplace conditions. The workers performing cleanup activities on the Outer Continental Shelf similarly have no protections against employer retaliation for raising health and safety concerns.

The Committee on Education and the Workforce Democrats issued a fact sheet about the Bill. The fact sheet calls for all workers to be protected when they blow the whistle on “concerns about unsafe working conditions” and to grant the workers the “right to stop working if they fear they could be injured or killed.”

“Employees are best situated to discover hazards in the work environment; they are the first line of detection and should be protected when raising concerns,” stated Stephen Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center. 

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From the Occupational Safety & Health Portal of Kazan, McClain, Lyons, Greenwood & Harley, PLC:

HR 5663 [The Miner Safety & Health Act makes a number of improvements, providing additional tools to ensure that OSHA and MSHA can properly enforce OSH law and keep workers safe.

Specifically, HR 5663 would increase protection for workers covered by the OSH Act by:

·   Codifies regulations that give workers the right to refuse to do hazardous work.

·  Clarifies that employees cannot be discriminated against for reporting unsafe conditions and brings the procedures for investigating and adjudicating discrimination complaints into line with other safety, health and whistleblower laws.

Giving New Rights to Workplace Injury Victims and their Families

·   Gives injured workers, their families and families of workers who died in work-related incidents the right to meet with investigators, receive copies of citations, and to have an opportunity to make a statement before any settlement negotiations.

·   Creates a new “Family Liaisons” program at each area OSHA office to keep family members of victims informed.

Requiring that Employers Abate Serious Hazards pending contest of Violations

· Employers that contest serious, willful, and repeat violations would no longer be allowed to leave them uncorrected while these citations are being contested and considered by the OSHA Review Commission, a process which can take years.

Significant progress has been made on protecting the health and safety of American workers since the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration almost four decades ago. However, too many workers are still dying, injured or becoming ill by working in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. HR 5663 will provide additional tools to ensure that OSHA and MSHA enforcement is more effective.

Read fact sheets by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH), the AFL-CIO, and Public Citizen here. In order to mobilize support for this bill, the firm is asking members of the public to call or fax their House representatives. The NWC supports this effort and thanks Kazan, McClain, Lyons, Greenwood & Harley, PLC for taking the lead.

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The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) passed 60-39 by Congress today includes a number of provisions designed to protect employees who report fraud in the commodity and stock exchanges. This is one of the most important whistleblower laws ever passed.

The NWC has compiled the sections of this bill that pertain specifically to whistleblowers with a one-sentence summary of each (see below). Additionally, the NWC's upcoming seminar, scheduled for July 23, 2010, has been updated to include a presentation of the whistleblower provisions in the Wall Street Reform Act. To register, click here.

Section 748
23(A) - qui tam for whistleblowers under the Commodities Exchange Act

23 sub (H) - anti-retaliation provision, which permits whistleblowers to go to federal court if they are retaliated against for filing fraud claims under the Commodities Exchange Act

Section 922

21F(a) qui tam for securities fraud: new qui tam rewards and incentives for whistleblowers who blow the whistle on securities violations

21F sub (H)(1) anti-retaliation provision for employees who file qui tam claims under securities law

(H)(1)(A)(iii) anti-retaliation for employees who make disclosures under SOX, any violation of SEC art or who make protected disclosures under obstruction of justice act

Claims filed in federal court - employees entitled to double back pay

(B) statistical ratings organizations (Moody's & Standard & Poor's) now protected under SOX anti-retaliation provisions (C) SOX whistleblower protection act enhanced and amended to increase the statute of limitations, guarantee jury trials, and prohibit mandatory arbitration agreements

Section 923 - Conforming amendments

Section 924 - SEC regulations to establish special whistleblower office and impose regulations enforcing whistleblower rules. 

Section 929A - SOX anti-retaliation law is clarified to ensure subsidiaries of publicly traded companies are fully protected under the whistleblower protection law

Section 966 - Federal employees are losers under the Act and regulators obtain no protections except a glorified "suggestion box"

Section 1057 - New whistleblower protection for employees who make disclosures to the newly created consumer protection board

Section 1079B - Amends the False Claims Act anti-retaliation law to provide for universal national 3 year statute of limitations to file wrongful discharge claims under the False Claims Act.

*Meryl Grenadier (NWC Fellow) drafted this post.

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The Wall Street Reform bill, recently reported out of conference, includes a number of provisions designed to protect employees who report fraud in the commodity and stock exchanges.  The bill includes two qui tam provisions that protect whistleblowers who disclose “original information” concerning major fraud.

The bill overturns judicial precedents under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that restricted jury trials and exempted subsidiaries. For the first time employees at “nationally recognized” “statistical rating organizations” such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, have whistleblower protection.

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Last week, Stephen M. Kohn was invited by Sibel Edmonds’ Boiling Frogs Post to debate Norman L. Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform on the controversial “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act” (S. 372). In Mr. Eisen’s absence (he declined the invitation to participate), Stephen M. Kohn appeared on Boiling Frogs with Sibel Edmonds and independent moderator Peter B. Collins to discuss his opposition to provisions in the bill that roll back existing whistleblower protections for FBI agents. Follow this link to join Steve Kohn on opposing the poison pills in S. 372. Now, Thom Hartmann has posted a blog entry about Sibel Edmonds' interview of Steve.

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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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Members of the House and Senate have been holed up on Capitol Hill all day negotiating the terms of the President's economic stimulus package. Earlier today, we learned that the whistleblower protection provisions in the bill were in danger. While the MSM has been reporting for some time that a deal has been struck, we still don't know the fate of the whistleblower provisions. This legislation is would extend protections to millions of Americans, and should not be cut from the bill. We are still urging supporters to email your Senators!

The National Whistleblowers Center issued the following press release this afternoon.

Key Whistleblower Oversight Provisions Should Not Be Cut From The Final Stimulus Bill

Washington, D.C. February 11, 2009. Key whistleblower oversight and accountability provisions should not be removed from the stimulus legislation. The Platts/Van Hollen amendment to the House version of the stimulus bill would extend meaningful whistleblower protections to all federal employees and it should be included in the stimulus bill.

Government and private industry have acknowledged that whistleblowers are the best way to detect waste, fraud and abuse.

“It would be a shame if Congress passed a massive stimulus spending bill without meaningful protections for all employees who are responsible for protecting taxpayer money, ” said Stephen M. Kohn, President National Whistleblowers Center.

“Congress must meet the public’s demand for oversight and accountability,” added Kohn. “Congress must immediately pass whistleblowers protections so that employees are not afraid to report waste, fraud and abuse.”

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The U.S. Senate is debating the financial stimulus package, and the whistleblower protection provision is in danger! We have worked too hard to suffer another seback.

TAKE ACTION! Write your Senators today.

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