Temat: WHISTLEBLOWER NEWS Sept. 17, 2014

WHISTLEBLOWER NEWS Sept. 17, 2014

RT America: 'Sensitive Jobs' Loophole – The Latest Threat to Whistleblowers
Summary: GAP Legal Director Tom Devine appeared in this broadcast covering last week’s congressional hearing about the treatment of federal whistleblowers. Devine discussed the new method of retribution against whistleblowers that involves the use of criminal investigations and prosecutions, as well as the “sensitive jobs” loophole that could allow the government to fire any civil servant accused of whistleblowing.

CNN: VA Inspector General Admits Wait Times Contributed to Vets' Deaths
Summary: In a House committee hearing on Wednesday, the VA inspector general conceded that long wait times at VA health care facilities in Phoenix may have contributed to a number of veterans’ deaths, a reversal of his previous claims.

Walmart Whistleblower Case in China Highlights Global Issue
Summary: Director of GAP's Food Integrity Campaign, Amanda Hitt, details the recent firing of a Walmart employee in China after he raised food safety concerns. Hitt illustrates how the fight to speak up for the integrity of food without fear of whistleblower retaliation is a battle "waged across continents."

Wall Street Journal: Holder Proposes Bigger Rewards for Wall Street Whistleblowers
Summary: Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that he wants to increase the potential reward amounts to whistleblowers who expose corporate misconduct on Wall Street.

Star Tribune (Minneapolis): Fired Humvee Whistleblower Wins $990,000
Summary: A former employee of a company that produces backup batteries for armored Humvees was fired after he alerted the Army to a design change that he feared could have fatal consequences for soldiers in Iraq. David McIntosh was awarded nearly $1 million as part of a $5.5 million settlement in his whistleblower retaliation case.

Salon: Confessions of a Drone Veteran – Why Using Them is More Dangerous than the Government is Telling You
Summary: A former Air Force imagery analyst says the U.S. drone program “has dangerous, sometimes devastating consequences for too many service members participating in the program,” challenging officials’ assertions that drones reduce or even eliminate the danger to U.S. personnel. This account details the impact – including emotional trauma, substance abuse, and isolation – resulting from using technology the author believes is “not accurate enough to determine life and death.”

A Whistleblower's Story
Summary: Guest blogger Michael Winston details the numerous violations he witnessed at Countrywide Financial Corporation, and the retaliation he has faced by the company and its successor Bank of America for the last eight years. Today’s account is the first in a three-part series detailing his whistleblower saga.
Key Quote: I was “fired, demoted, threatened, and harassed” by Countrywide, which broke the law in doing so. I was retaliated against immediately and relentlessly in every way imaginable, and simply didn't understand why. Why did Countrywide feel this was such a threat? I wondered. Perhaps calling attention to the company would lead to investigations of widespread fraud. Perhaps worse. But the immediacy and ferocity of their retaliation was a clear indication to me that something larger than loan structure and toxins was hidden.

Canadian Press: Canada’s Integrity Watchdog, Whistleblower Protector Quitting in December
Summary: After four years, Mario Dion will leave his job as Canada’s public sector integrity watchdog and protector of civil service whistleblowers, citing personal reasons. Previously, whistleblower protection groups called for his removal after Canada's Auditor General found that Dion's office treated whistleblower filings with "gross mismanagement" and incompetence.

See: http://www.whistleblower.org/