Office That Protects Whistleblowers Fires Warning Shot Across Trump's Bow [View all]

[Jacob Boehme]

Source: TPM http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/special-counsel-whistleblower-anti-gag-order

The Office of Special Counsel, an agency that protects whistleblowers in the federal government, on Wednesday issued a reminder that any non-disclosure agreements or policies on employee communications must include language notifying federal employees of their whistleblower rights.

"Under the anti-gag provision, agencies cannot impose nondisclosure agreements and policies that fail to include required language that informs employees that their statutory right to blow the whistle supersedes the terms and conditions of the nondisclosure agreement or policy,"

The OSC also noted that whistleblower laws protect employees who blow the whistle "on any effort to ‘distort, misrepresent, suppress’ or otherwise censor any government ‘research, analysis, or technical information’ that the employee reasonably believes could, among other things, pose a substantial and significant threat to the public health or safety or constitute a violation of law, rule, or regulation."