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

Tune in tomorrow at 1:00pm EDT to Honesty Without Fear on Progressive Radio Network.
  
In the first half hour, Jane Turner interviews whistleblower Justin Hopson about his recently released book Breaking the Blue Wall: One Man's War Against Police Corruption. During his first days as a New Jersey State Trooper, Mr. Hopson witnessed an unlawful arrest and false report made by his training officer. When he refused to testify in support of the illegal arrest, he suffered severe harassment from a secret society within the State Police know as the "Lords of Discipline." For decades, The Lords' mission was to keep troopers in line. Mr. Hopson stood up to decades of silencing and sparked the largest internal investigation in State Police history. Listen to Jane and Mr. Hopson discuss his journey as a whistleblower.

In the second half hour, Richard Renner discusses a sweeping new pro-whistleblower decision by the Department of Labor with attorney Daniel Corey of the Sensible Law Institute. Attorney Corey represents Thomas Spinner who was fired for blowing the whistle on internal control problems at New York City's largest owner of office buildings, SL Green. The question in Mr. Spinner's case was whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) would protect him because he was fired by one of SL Green's contractors – not by SL Green. On May 31, 2012, the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB) explicitly rejected the holding of the First Circuit in Lawson v. FMR, LLC and held that SOX does in fact protect the employees of contractors. Tune in to hear how this will affect workers in the future.

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

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More and more employers are investing in devices that can track their employees with the Global Positioning System (GPS). Pagers, cell phones and other devices can include GPA tracking. Employers can use the available information to record delivery times, travel speeds, hours of work and employee locations. The Baltimore Sun reported this week about how the local police department is using an officer's BlackBerry tracking in the investigation of an officer accused of sexual assault. The department spent $3.5 million in stimulus money to issue the devices to its officers, and it is now using them to assess the alleged victim's claims. Some trucking companies are using the data to corroborate a driver's logbook, but others avoid using any devices that could interfere with drivers who are pressured to drive longer than allowed and then keep a "legal" log instead of an honest one. My friend David Marshall of Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP here in Washington reports that he once used an employer's GPS tracking information to compute a client's hours of work and win an case for unpaid overtime. I can imagine this new technology creating both opportunities and risks for whistleblowers. In transportation, for example, knowing that the employer has GPS tracking information may pressure some employees to blow the whistle on supervisor pressure to drive too fast or too far. Keep in mind, the employer will own this information and may chose to use it selectively.  Workers who do what they are told without asking questions may have their violations overlooked.  Whistleblowers may be cherry picked for discipline. Unions may ask for equal access to GPS data during the investigation of grievances or in collective bargaining. Whistleblowers may seek the data in discovery to prove employer knowledge of violations, or to show disparate treatment. Some devices, including cell phones, can be active even when they are turned off. Of these, some may be disabled by removing the battery. Whistleblowers need to be familiar with the technology assigned to them and mindful of how they and their employers can use it.

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Officers Donald Smalls, William James, Frazier Caudle, Nikeith Goins and Sholanda Miller worked for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) here in the District of Columbia. They worked for Lt. Ronald Wilkins of the First Division vice squad. In Feburary 2006, these five African-American officers filed anonymous charges of race discrimination against Lt. Wilkins.  Four days later, management announced that everyone in that squad would have to reapply for their jobs. These five who complained received new assignments in less desirable units. After an 11-day federal court trial, a jury has found that MPD management acted in retaliation.  It awarded two of the officers $250,000 each and another two $200,000 each. Spencer Hsu has released an article about the verdict in today's Washington Post. In the article, D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson raises a concern about an increasing number of whistleblower claims made in the Department.  He is also concerned that District officials are choosing to resist the retaliation claims instead of settling them. Congratulations to attorney Jennifer Klar of the Washington law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax, for representing the officers in this victory.  The District has announced that it plans to appeal.

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The Village of North Syracuse, New York, has agreed to pay former police officer Michael Stassi $260,000 to settle his whistleblower retaliation lawsuit.  Stassi had to blow the whistle in 2005 on time card cheating by his superiors. Syracuse.com reports that former Sgt. Daniel Keefe plead guilty to having subordinates sign statements that Sgt. Keefe was working during times he was not working.  Former Capt. Michael Casey also plead guilty to official misconduct.  Former police chief David Wilkinson plead guilty to submitting false time sheets to North Syracuse, and a former employer.  The court ordered him to pay $3,760 in restitution. The news report does not detail what retaliation Stassi suffered, but thanks to the movie Serpico, one can easily imagine the hardships on a police officer who breaks the "code of silence." Stassi filed his retaliation case in 2008.  It was delayed after Wilkinson filed for bankruptcy protection. Now it is settled for a lot more than the fraudulent time sheets cost.  It is another example of how cover-ups can cost more than the initial crimes.  Retaliation claims can cost an employer a lot more than just addressing the issue a whistleblower raises.

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