Pentagon Orders Stronger Whistleblower Protections
Mandatory Investigations, Punishment for Retaliators, Appeals and Wider Coverage
WASHINGTON - JULY 31 - In a sharp departure from policies of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the Department of Defense has unveiled new rules to better protect both uniformed and civilian employees from retaliation for reporting wrongdoing, according to an agency directive posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In certain respects, the new rules, which go into immediate effect, are stronger than existing protections for non-Defense civil servants.
In a Department of Defense (DOD) Directive dated July 23, 2007, Deputy Secretary Gordon England mandates a series of procedural and substantive safeguards for agency whistleblowers, including:
Punishment for officers or civilian supervisors found to have restrained or reprised against whistleblowers. Regulations are being prepared to make whistleblower retaliation explicitly punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice as an act of insubordination;
Mandatory investigations of whistleblower complaints by service inspector general offices within 180 days. The rules provide for oversight of all such investigations by the DOD Inspector General. In addition, any decision flowing from these investigations may be appealed to the Secretary of Defense; and
Explicitly extending whistleblower protection regulations to cover disclosures made within the military chain-of-command, as well as disclosures made to Congress or inspector generals. Under current law, non-DOD civil servants are not protected for whistleblower disclosures made within their chains-of-command, although legislation pending in both houses of Congress would extend coverage to these intra-agency reports.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Monday, November 13, 2006
Lloyd: Force Protection settles with $1.8 million payment
Lloyd: Force Protection settles with $1.8 million payment
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A South Carolina defense contractor that makes armored vehicles for the Pentagon has agreed to pay the government $1.8 million to resolve allegations brought in a whistleblower lawsuit, U.S. Attorney Reginald I. Lloyd said Wednesday.
The suit claimed Force Protection Inc. of Ladson "failed to advance payments to expedite production of armored vehicles for the U.S. military," Lloyd said in a news release.
The company, whose vehicles are used Afghanistan and Iraq to find and remove bombs, denied any wrongdoing.
The case was filed in U.S. District Court in South Carolina by Justin Lucey, a Mount Pleasant attorney, on behalf of two former employees of Force Protection, Lloyd said. He identified the two as Perry Chomyn and Robin Swain.
"The settlement resolves Force's potential liability under the False Claims Act arising from the whistleblower's complaint," Lloyd's release said.
The two former employees "will receive $315,000 as their share of the proceeds of the settlement" and got "and additional $105,000 in attorney fees and settlement of their employment-related claims," the statement said.
Company vice president Mike Aldrich told The (Charleston) Post and Courier that the company agreed to the settlement over an accounting technicality.
"We're pleased with the settlement and are especially happy with the investigation, which was extensive and which found that none of the criminal allegations, and especially that none of the safety allegations, were substantiated," Aldrich told the paper.
The company said it took a charge of $1.93 million in the second quarter to cover the settlement and interest charges, plus legal fees for the former employees who filed the lawsuit.
Lucey said his clients also were satisfied with the settlement.
"We believe we contributed to making these vehicles safer for our soldiers by bringing this suit, and we are happy to have reached this settlement," he said.
In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it agreed to settle over an issue involving an advance payment as part of its work for the Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicle.
The lawsuit claimed the company used the payment "for purposes other than that to which the United States government had intended."
The company said the error essentially amounted to depositing the payment into the wrong bank account.
Force Protection employs 550 workers at its Ladson plant - up from just 12 employees two and a half years ago.
Whistleblower Turns To YouTube
Whistleblower Turns To YouTube
WASHINGTON, D.C., Aug. 30, 2006
(CBS) In a crudely produced 10-minute video, engineer and former Lockheed Martin project manager Michael DeKort charges there were serious flaws in some work done by Lockheed to upgrade security on Coast Guard vessels. He calls it a waste of tax dollars that jeopardizes the safety of Americans. As CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reported on The Early Show Wednesday, it isn't all that unusual for whistleblowers to find it tough to get noticed. What is unusual, she says, is how DeKort is getting his message out. He went through his company's chain of command. He called the Navy. He even went to Congress. But he says things seemed stalled until he videotaped his allegations and posted them on the popular Web site, YouTube.
"What I am going to tell you is going to seem preposterous," DeKort begins on the video. Among other things, he alleges there are critical blind spots in some Coast Guard ships' security cameras, and gaps that could enable spies to listen in on classified communications with agencies such as the FBI. "It may be very hard for you to believe our government and the largest defense contractor in the world is capable of such alarming incompetence," DeKort says on his video.
YouTube isn't exactly known for its serious side, Attkisson says. Hundreds of thousands of people visit daily to post or watch offbeat home movies and entertaining videos. DeKort may be the first to use YouTube as a whistleblowing tool in a government contracting case, she adds. He explained, "I thought, well, 'Maybe if I create a video, put it on YouTube, the fact that somebody is willing to do that and they're willing to challenge Lockheed Martin and the Coast Guard in doing so, maybe that will draw some attention.' "
DeKort says he didn't really expect much to come of it. But, someone from the Navy Times saw his video, wrote about it, and now his story has gotten more public attention in just a few weeks than in all the months he spent rattling the cage through traditional means. As for the allegations, the Homeland Security inspector general is investigating.
The Coast Guard says it's already "taken the appropriate level of action with respect to each of (DeKort's) stated issues." And Lockheed Martin says the claims are without merit and don't pose safety or security issues. Whether or not DeKort's unconventional video ends up getting results, Attkisson concludes, his method of delivery is definitely getting attention.
Whistleblowers Say State Farm Cheated Katrina Victims
Whistleblowers Say State Farm Cheated Katrina Victims
August 28, 2006 10:25 AM
Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:
State Farm Insurance supervisors systematically demanded that Hurricane Katrina damage reports be buried or replaced or changed so that the company would not have to pay policyholders' claims in Mississippi, two State Farm insiders tell ABC News.
Kerri and Cori Rigsby, independent adjusters who had worked for State Farm exclusively for eight years, say they have turned over thousands of internal company documents and their own detailed statement to the FBI and Mississippi state investigators.
In an exclusive interview with ABC news, that was broadcast on 20/20 and World News, the Rigsby sisters say they saw "widespread" fraud at the State Farm offices in Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss.
"Katrina was devastating, but so was State Farm," says Cori Rigsby.
At one point, they say State Farm brought in a special shredding truck they believe was used to destroy key documents. State Farm says shredding is standard to protect policyholders' privacy.
The sisters say they saw supervisors go to great lengths to pressure outside engineers to prepare reports concluding that damage was caused by water, not covered under State Farm policies, rather than by wind.
They say reports that concluded that damage was caused by wind, for which State Farm would have to pay, were hidden in a special file and new reports were ordered.
Cori Rigsby says she recalls a senior coordinator ordering that an engineering company be told to alter the findings in its report so that State Farm would not have to pay. "Tell them if they don't change their report, we're not paying their invoice," she remembers the supervisor saying.
A lawyer for State Farm, Wayne Drinkwater, told ABC News he was unfamiliar with the Rigsby sisters but denied State Farm cheated policyholders or pressured outside engineers to reach particular conclusions in their damage reports.
"We, of course, have not been cheating," Drinkwater said.
The allegations, if proven, would support the suspicions of thousands of homeowners along the Mississippi Gulf Coast who have been unable to collect enough insurance money to rebuild their homes.
Many have filed lawsuits against State Farm and other insurance companies alleging the companies of wrongly denying or low-balling their claims. The Rigsby sisters' allegations are now a key part of suits filed against State Farm by well-known Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, famous for taking on the tobacco companies.
August 28, 2006 10:25 AM
Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:
State Farm Insurance supervisors systematically demanded that Hurricane Katrina damage reports be buried or replaced or changed so that the company would not have to pay policyholders' claims in Mississippi, two State Farm insiders tell ABC News.
Kerri and Cori Rigsby, independent adjusters who had worked for State Farm exclusively for eight years, say they have turned over thousands of internal company documents and their own detailed statement to the FBI and Mississippi state investigators.
In an exclusive interview with ABC news, that was broadcast on 20/20 and World News, the Rigsby sisters say they saw "widespread" fraud at the State Farm offices in Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss.
"Katrina was devastating, but so was State Farm," says Cori Rigsby.
At one point, they say State Farm brought in a special shredding truck they believe was used to destroy key documents. State Farm says shredding is standard to protect policyholders' privacy.
The sisters say they saw supervisors go to great lengths to pressure outside engineers to prepare reports concluding that damage was caused by water, not covered under State Farm policies, rather than by wind.
They say reports that concluded that damage was caused by wind, for which State Farm would have to pay, were hidden in a special file and new reports were ordered.
Cori Rigsby says she recalls a senior coordinator ordering that an engineering company be told to alter the findings in its report so that State Farm would not have to pay. "Tell them if they don't change their report, we're not paying their invoice," she remembers the supervisor saying.
A lawyer for State Farm, Wayne Drinkwater, told ABC News he was unfamiliar with the Rigsby sisters but denied State Farm cheated policyholders or pressured outside engineers to reach particular conclusions in their damage reports.
"We, of course, have not been cheating," Drinkwater said.
The allegations, if proven, would support the suspicions of thousands of homeowners along the Mississippi Gulf Coast who have been unable to collect enough insurance money to rebuild their homes.
Many have filed lawsuits against State Farm and other insurance companies alleging the companies of wrongly denying or low-balling their claims. The Rigsby sisters' allegations are now a key part of suits filed against State Farm by well-known Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, famous for taking on the tobacco companies.
NSA Whistleblower Alleges Illegal Spying
NSA Whistleblower Alleges Illegal Spying
Former Employee Admits to Being a Source for The New York Times
By BRIAN ROSS
Jan 10, 2006 — - Russell Tice, a longtime insider at the National Security Agency, is now a whistleblower the agency would like to keep quiet.
For 20 years, Tice worked in the shadows as he helped the United States spy on other people's conversations around the world.
"I specialized in what's called special access programs," Tice said of his job. "We called them 'black world' programs and operations."
But now, Tice tells ABC News that some of those secret "black world" operations run by the NSA were operated in ways that he believes violated the law. He is prepared to tell Congress all he knows about the alleged wrongdoing in these programs run by the Defense Department and the NSA in the post-9/11 efforts to go after terrorists.
"The mentality was we need to get these guys, and we're going to do whatever it takes to get them," he said.
Tracking Calls
Tice says the technology exists to track and sort through every domestic and international phone call as they are switched through centers, such as one in New York, and to search for key words or phrases that a terrorist might use.
"If you picked the word 'jihad' out of a conversation," Tice said, "the technology exists that you focus in on that conversation, and you pull it out of the system for processing."
According to Tice, intelligence analysts use the information to develop graphs that resemble spiderwebs linking one suspect's phone number to hundreds or even thousands more.
Tice Admits Being a Source for The New York Times
President Bush has admitted that he gave orders that allowed the NSA to eavesdrop on a small number of Americans without the usual requisite warrants.
But Tice disagrees. He says the number of Americans subject to eavesdropping by the NSA could be in the millions if the full range of secret NSA programs is used.
"That would mean for most Americans that if they conducted, or you know, placed an overseas communication, more than likely they were sucked into that vacuum," Tice said.
The same day The New York Times broke the story of the NSA eavesdropping without warrants, Tice surfaced as a whistleblower in the agency. He told ABC News that he was a source for the Times' reporters. But Tice maintains that his conscience is clear.
"As far as I'm concerned, as long as I don't say anything that's classified, I'm not worried," he said. "We need to clean up the intelligence community. We've had abuses, and they need to be addressed."
The NSA revoked Tice's security clearance in May of last year based on what it called psychological concerns and later dismissed him. Tice calls that bunk and says that's the way the NSA deals with troublemakers and whistleblowers. Today the NSA said it had "no information to provide."
ABC News' Vic Walter and Avni Patel contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
Former Employee Admits to Being a Source for The New York Times
By BRIAN ROSS
Jan 10, 2006 — - Russell Tice, a longtime insider at the National Security Agency, is now a whistleblower the agency would like to keep quiet.
For 20 years, Tice worked in the shadows as he helped the United States spy on other people's conversations around the world.
"I specialized in what's called special access programs," Tice said of his job. "We called them 'black world' programs and operations."
But now, Tice tells ABC News that some of those secret "black world" operations run by the NSA were operated in ways that he believes violated the law. He is prepared to tell Congress all he knows about the alleged wrongdoing in these programs run by the Defense Department and the NSA in the post-9/11 efforts to go after terrorists.
"The mentality was we need to get these guys, and we're going to do whatever it takes to get them," he said.
Tracking Calls
Tice says the technology exists to track and sort through every domestic and international phone call as they are switched through centers, such as one in New York, and to search for key words or phrases that a terrorist might use.
"If you picked the word 'jihad' out of a conversation," Tice said, "the technology exists that you focus in on that conversation, and you pull it out of the system for processing."
According to Tice, intelligence analysts use the information to develop graphs that resemble spiderwebs linking one suspect's phone number to hundreds or even thousands more.
Tice Admits Being a Source for The New York Times
President Bush has admitted that he gave orders that allowed the NSA to eavesdrop on a small number of Americans without the usual requisite warrants.
But Tice disagrees. He says the number of Americans subject to eavesdropping by the NSA could be in the millions if the full range of secret NSA programs is used.
"That would mean for most Americans that if they conducted, or you know, placed an overseas communication, more than likely they were sucked into that vacuum," Tice said.
The same day The New York Times broke the story of the NSA eavesdropping without warrants, Tice surfaced as a whistleblower in the agency. He told ABC News that he was a source for the Times' reporters. But Tice maintains that his conscience is clear.
"As far as I'm concerned, as long as I don't say anything that's classified, I'm not worried," he said. "We need to clean up the intelligence community. We've had abuses, and they need to be addressed."
The NSA revoked Tice's security clearance in May of last year based on what it called psychological concerns and later dismissed him. Tice calls that bunk and says that's the way the NSA deals with troublemakers and whistleblowers. Today the NSA said it had "no information to provide."
ABC News' Vic Walter and Avni Patel contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
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