Message to EPA Employees: National Whistleblower Appreciation Day - Understanding Your Whistleblower Rights and Protections (July 30, 2024)

Dear Colleagues,

Whistleblowers who report fraud, waste, and abuse perform an important service to the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal government, and the public. These disclosures promote accountability and efficiency in the EPA’s programs and operations and strengthen the public’s trust in our institutions.

Today, we celebrate National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, which commemorates the first enactment of whistleblower protections in federal statute in 1778. On this date, we recognize the contributions of government employees, contractors, grantees, and others who disclose wrongdoing. We are committed to protecting your right to be free from prohibited personnel practices and retaliation for whistleblowing.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent agency protecting federal employees from prohibited personnel practices, including whistleblower retaliation and unlawful hiring practices. OSC also provides an independent, secure channel for disclosing and resolving wrongdoing in federal agencies.

The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 provide the right for all covered federal employees to make whistleblower disclosures and to ensure employees are protected from whistleblower retaliation. The Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 and OSC’s Reauthorization Act of 2017 further enhance and reinforce these rights and protections.

Whistleblowing is defined as the disclosure of information an employee reasonably believes evidences:

• A violation of any law, rule, or regulation.
• Gross mismanagement.
• Gross waste of funds.
• An abuse of authority.
• A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.
• Censorship related to scientific research or analysis.

Employees may make lawful disclosures to anyone, including, for example, management officials, the Inspector General of an agency, or OSC. Agency employees may disclose information to the EPA’s Office of Inspector General through its hotline complaint form.

The EPA Office of Inspector General has the authority to investigate whistleblower retaliation allegations made against EPA employees. Employees can also contact the EPA Whistleblower Protection Coordinator for information about prohibitions on retaliation for whistleblowing, and employees’ rights and remedies against retaliation for protected disclosures.

Please review the fact sheet, Your Rights as a Federal Employee (pdf), for detailed information on the 14 prohibited personnel practices and employees’ rights to file complaints with OSC. I also encourage you to review Your Rights When Reporting Wrongs (pdf) for different avenues to make whistleblower disclosures as federal employees. More information can also be found on the OSC website.

In celebration of whistleblowers and their important contributions, the EPA Office of Inspector General will host its fourth annual Whistleblower Appreciation Presentation in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more details regarding this presentation, which invites EPA employees to learn key information about whistleblower reporting, rights, and protections. I encourage all of you to attend this important event.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Regan
Administrator