Newly updated and written by subject matter experts Renn Fowler and Sam Vitaro, A Guide to the Whistleblower Protection Act & Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act provides insights into the case law and procedure of whistleblower reprisal claims, describing in detail the roles of the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Special Counsel. In depth discussion of the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, the Presidential Policy Directive Protecting Employees With Access to Classified Information (PPD-19), the Inspector General Act, practice tips, summaries of the most significant cases impacting whistleblower law, and explanations of the procedural and legal differences between individual right of action and otherwise appealable actions round out this text.

Representatives, personnel specialists, supervisors, and managers rely on this guide to understand:

• Legislative History and Sources of Law for the Whistleblower Protection Act—including the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, the 1994 Amendments, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012, the No Fear Act, Presidential Policy Directive (PPD-19) and MSPB regulations
• OSC Operations—including jurisdiction and responsibilities, prohibited personnel practice complaints, whistleblower disclosures to OSC, and referrals to OSC
• OSC and the MSPB: Corrective and Disciplinary Actions—including OSC's burden of proof in disciplinary actions and a comprehensive list of summarized OSC whistleblower reprisal cases
• MSPB Processing of Individuals' Reprisal and Other Protected Activity Claims: OAAs and IRAs—including distinctions between individual right of actions and other appealable actions; covered employees, agencies and personnel actions; the contents of the OSC complaint; and the merits hearing
• Whistleblower Reprisal Claims and the Negotiated Grievance Process—including a Q&A section addressing frequently asked questions
• OSC Stays—including statutory requirements and stay requests procedures
• Elements of a Reprisal Claim Made By Employees or Applicants—including the elements of an IRA and otherwise appealable action
• A Closer Look at the Elements: Protected Disclosures and Protected Activity—including the reasonable belief standard; summaries of decisions of significance on "violation of any law, rule or regulations," "abuse of authority," "gross mismanagement or gross waste of funds,"; "substantial and specific danger to public health or safety"; and perceived whistleblower status and association with a whistleblower
• When a Disclosure Is Not a Disclosure—including disclosures of information that is prohibited by law or executive order, and in the "normal course of duties"
• Prima Facie Case: A Personnel Action and A Contributing Factor—including case summaries of significant decisions relating to personnel actions, security clearance actions, and the contributing factor analysis
• The Agency's Burden: It Would Have Taken the Same Action in the Absence of Whistleblowing—including the strength of the agency's evidence, the existence of motive to retaliate, and evidence of similarly situated employees
• Remedies, Damages, and Relief—including corrective actions, transfer preference, attorney fees, make whole relief, compensatory and consequential damages, and interim relief
• Administrative and Judicial Review—including petitions for review, judicial relief, and review of arbitrator's decisions
• Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protections: From the 1998 ICWPA to the Presidential Policy Directive (PPD)-19—including statutory exclusions, PPD-19, other Dept. of Defense Intelligence employees, and the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act
• Appendices include text of 5 USC 1201–1222, 2301-2304, 7501-7543, and 7701-7703, 5 CFR 1201, 1209 and 1800-1850, the WPEA of 2012, PPD-19, Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, and OSC Form 14

Also includes a detailed table of contents and table of cases.

Available as a softcover book and/or a PDF file with many useful features delivered on a CD-ROM or USB Flash Drive or download.

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