Employees of federal government contractors stand to gain much increased whistleblower protection from the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, which has passed Congress and President Obama is expected to sign.
A complaint must first be filed with the relevant Office of Inspector General (OIG) and if relief is not timely provided within 210 days, the employee may file suit in federal district court with the following provisions applicable:
- a proof burden requiring only a showing the the protected disclosure was a contributing factor in the personnel action, which can be met by shoing knowledge and temporal proximity. This is the standard under 5 U.S.C. sec. 1221(e)
- possible remedies that include reinstatement, back
pay, compensatory damages (which are not capped) and attorney fees and costs
- protected whistleblower disclosures that include reports to a Member of Congress, a Congressional committee, an Inspector General, the Government Accounting Office (GAO), a Department of Defense of NASA employee responsible for contract oversight, an authorized official of the Department of Justice, a court, a grand jury or an employee of the contractor that has authority and/or responsibility to assure that any misconduct, fraud or abuse is remedied enforcement
agency, a court or grand jury or a management official or other employee of the
contractor or subcontractor who has the responsibility to investigate, discover,
or address contract mismanagement, violation of law, etc.
- the rights and protections may not be waived (although one wonders whether this includes arbitration agreements)
- there is a three year limitiation period
- the protections will become effective one (1) year after President Obama signs the law, which has not yet occurred but is expected to.
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