What does the Federal Whistleblower Protection Act protect against?
The Act prohibits reprisal against any federal employee or job applicant who makes a disclosure protected under the Act. Violations of the Act can result in disciplinary action taken against federal officials found guilty of whistleblower reprisal. What is prohibited under the Whistleblower Protection Act? It is unlawful for a federal official to take or threaten to take a personnel action (i.e. suspension, demotion, reassignment, transfer, or removal) against you because of a protected disclosure. A protected disclosure is information that you reasonably believe to be evidence of a violation of law, rule or regulation or gross waste of government funds, gross mismanagement, an abuse of authority or a substantial and specific threat to public health or safety. It is also unlawful under the Act for an official to take or threaten to take a personnel action, due to a protected disclosure. Other personnel actions include performance evaluations and any benefit of employment such as leave,
The Act prohibits federal employees from taking or threatening to take a personnel action against an employee because of their protected disclosures. A protected disclosure is information that you reasonably believe to be evidence of a violation of law, rule or regulation or gross waste of government funds, gross mismanagement, an abuse of authority or a substantial and specific threat to public health or safety. Personnel actions are things such as disciplinary actions, denials of promotion, negative performance appraisals, a detail or reassignment and termination. NOTE: Employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Government Accounting Office, Central Intelligence Agency and many other foreign intelligence or counterintelligence agencies are not covered by the Act. What must I show to prove that I have been retaliated against? You must prove that you made a protected disclosure and that as a result of that protected disclosure an agency official took an adverse action against yo
