Recent Obama Appointee May Signal Positive Changes for Whistleblowers

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Marshall Chriswell

During the Presidential campaign, the staff at the National Whistleblowers Center worked hard to put the candidates on record with regard to their views on whistleblower protections. This survey response, from then candidate Obama indicated an unequivocal support for strong whistleblower laws. As we reported soon after the elections, the American people fully expect President Obama to keep that promise, by  supporting legislation to strengthen employees' free speech rights and appointing whistleblower supporters to key positions.

It is for this reason that I found this post on the FedBlog (run by GovExec.com) to be so interesting. FedBlog is reporting that: 

 

Apparently, Danielle Gray, the staffer who filled out [the National Whistleblowers Center] questionnaire for President Obama in which he expressed strong support for whistleblower protections, is now an associate counsel to Obama. It's not clear that she'll be working specifically on whistleblower issues in her new position, but it might affect how people read Obama's signing statement on whistleblower issues in the omnibus spending bill.

 

One can only speculate on the effect this will have on the administration's view of whistleblower rights, but it certainly seems like a good thing.

 

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Employee Rights Advocacy Institute receives grant for opinion research

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Richard Renner

The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy (The Institute), has received a grant from The Public Welfare Foundation for a research project on public opinions about issues affecting America's workers.

The "Project to Assess Public Support for Stronger Enforcement of Workplace Protections" will examine existing attitudes about government oversight and private enforcement, particularly the issue of ensuring meaningful protections in the workplace.  While we know that public opinion is shifting, we do not know the extent of the shift, and whether it extends beyond specific failed industries to laws regulating workplace conditions and to private attorneys' role in enforcement of those laws.  The project will assess public attitudes and communications strategies about strong workplace protections.

The Institute is the public interest organization affiliated with the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA). 

 

 

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Whistleblowers Sought for Survey

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Richard Renner

David Welch, known for being the first Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) whistleblower to have a hearing before the U.S. Department of Labor, is conducting a survey of all whistleblowers.  He will use his survey as part of his dissertation. 

His doctoral dissertation compares the effectiveness of the various federal whistleblower laws. "Your input is valuable because no one can understand what a whistleblower has experienced like another whistleblower," Welch says.

You may select N/A and go on to the next question if you do not want to answer or cannot answer any of the questions.

To take the survey, simply click on the link below. With some internet browsers, the URL only comes through as an address and not a hyperlink. If that is the case, you can copy the URL and paste it into the address bar of your browser. Then, hit Enter to go directly to the survey.


www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx
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