A report recently released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that the FBI lacks a sufficient process for whistleblowers to address retaliation after they report wrongdoing to supervisors, which puts them at additional risk for further reprisals.

The GAO report outlines that unlike most other executive branch agencies, the FBI does not have a process in which employees can seek corrective action in the event they experience retaliation based on disclosures of wrongdoing to supervisors or others in the chain of command.

In dismissing reprisal complaints submitted to supervisors, FBI whistleblowers are left without protection from further retaliation.  The dismissal of these potential legitimate complaints could deny whistleblowers access to full recourse, thus permitting the retaliatory action to go uninvestigated and discouraging would be whistleblowers from coming forward.

The GAO explained that it initiated this study due to the high rate of FBI whistleblower retaliation.  The report details the experience of one FBI whistleblower who suffered retaliation after reporting that another agent stole items from Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks.  Although the Justice Department eventually ruled in the whistleblower’s favor, it took ten years to settle the complaint.

In the report, the GAO also asked Congress to consider revising regulations so that FBI whistleblowers could seek recourse against retaliation for whistleblower complaints made to people within their chain of complaint.  The watchdog agency additionally called for the Justice Department to correct its defective grievance process which currently puts whistleblowers at risk.

FBI whistleblowers serve a vital function to the government and U.S. citizens.  They help to safeguard the government against waste and fraud.  Yet it appears that the DOJ is not handling these vital whistleblower complaints as they should be.  The GAO report reveals that the DOJ dismissed 48 out of 62 FBI whistleblower complaints because they failed to meet regulatory requirements.  For instance, 17 of the complaints were dismissed because they were made with someone not permitted to receive the disclosure.  Timeliness was also a major concern of the GAO.  The complaints took a minimum of two years to resolve, and some took over ten years to find relief.

In October of last year, the FBI revealed that it intended to revamp its whistleblower rules to make it easier for employees and agents to report misconduct occurring within the agency.  The changes would include expanding the list of individuals eligible to receive a complaint and making whistleblowers potentially able to receive compensation for their efforts.  These reform ideas came in the wake of Edward Snowden’s massive release of classified documents.

The FBI’s culture against whistleblowers will not be an easy one to change, but hopefully with more and more agencies revealing problems within the system, real reform will continue within the system.  The FBI and the American public rely on whistleblowers to uncover fraud so it is imperative we do all we can to encourage these brave individuals to come forward.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Helping Brave Whistleblowers Expose Fraud and Wrongdoing 

Whistleblowers are at the heart of the American judicial system and economy.  Whistleblowers serve the vital function of uncovering wrongdoing that would otherwise likely continue unchecked, costing the government and in turn American taxpayers millions of dollars.  The Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC help whistleblowers across the state to bring qui tam and retaliation actions.  A successful qui tam suit can result in the award of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Call the experienced whistleblower attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule your free consultation.