An agency that shields career civil service whistleblowers from retaliation at the hands of their federal employers could soon be extending its protections to government contractor workers.
The Office of Special Counsel has proposed a rule that would allow it to investigate allegations of wrongdoing from present or former federal contractors who work with agencies under its jurisdiction.
While government contractors already enjoy the legal protections available to federal employees under the False Claims Act, the measure would extend OSC’s whistleblower services to contracting staff.
“We’re proposing to be an additional channel to report wrongdoing in addition to their office of inspector general and Congress,” Nick Schwellenbach, spokesman for OSC, told the Washington Examiner. “Some people prefer one channel over another.”
The OSC investigates and prosecutes instances of alleged retaliation against employees who claim knowledge of improper or illegal activities in government programs.
Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, lauded the proposed rule, saying “contractor whistleblowers have protections and OSC is taking on the new role of looking into alleged reprisals. Despite the lack of information about the number of contractors working for the federal government, OSC is recognizing the fact that the federal workforce has transformed, which is good news for taxpayers and holding agencies and contractors accountable.”
Amey’s group provides legal assistance to federal whistleblowers.
The proposed rule, which appeared in the Federal Register Jan. 22, noted that contractors “in the modern workforce … often work alongside federal employees, having similar if not identical duties … As such, his/her disclosure will likely carry a comparable degree of reliability as that of a federal employee.”
Still, not all federal employees can file complaints with OSC. The Postal Service, military and Export-Import Bank are among the federal entities that fall outside of OSC’s purview.
OSC resolved 4,808 cases in 2013 and secured 175 court victories for whistleblowers that year, Carolyn Lerner, head of the agency, said in June 2014 testimony before Congress.
Schwellenbach said OSC may decide to “tweak” the rule based on feedback it receives during the public comment period, which will end March 23.
