By American Bar Association
Caroline Hendrie, executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, told the American Bar Association recently that her surveys over the last several years have noted a rise in the silencing of federal government whistleblowers.
The general public suffers when whistleblowers are silenced, say panelists at a recent ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice webinar.
The general public suffers when whistleblowers are silenced, say panelists at a recent ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice webinar. During the Dec. 5 webinar “Speaking Out — From Inside: Freedom of Speech and Government Whistleblowers,” sponsored by the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Hendrie and other free speech advocates spoke on the trend and its implications.
Whistleblowers are those who report what they believe is evidence of waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement, explained Hampton Dellinger, special counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
Federal employees can make these reports to his office, Congress, the inspector general and even to the media, he said.
Speaking on how whistleblowers are silenced, Frank D. LoMonte, legal counsel for CNN and co-chair of the section’s Free Speech and Free Press Committee, said that blanket rules across the federal government often limit or forbid public employees from sharing the benefit of their expertise and knowledge with the public.
Beyond these gag rules, whistleblowers commonly report threats against them.
According to the panelists, when whistleblowers are silenced, the general public suffers the loss. “Open communication is crucial to bring to light information the public needs to know,” Hendrie said, adding that silencing “blocks the free flow of information.”
Protection is available for whistleblowers. Dellinger said that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal agency. “We protect federal employees, especially whistleblowers, and enforce the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan politics,” he said.
“First Amendment rights of public employees is front and center these days because it’s being litigated quite a bit even as we speak,” said LoMonte. “You can’t go a week without another case in the news headlines about an employee getting into disciplinary trouble for what they have said.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2024)
Caroline Hendrie, executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, told the American Bar Association recently that her surveys over the last several years have noted a rise in the silencing of federal government whistleblowers.
The general public suffers when whistleblowers are silenced, say panelists at a recent ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice webinar.
The general public suffers when whistleblowers are silenced, say panelists at a recent ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice webinar. During the Dec. 5 webinar “Speaking Out — From Inside: Freedom of Speech and Government Whistleblowers,” sponsored by the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Hendrie and other free speech advocates spoke on the trend and its implications.
Whistleblowers are those who report what they believe is evidence of waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement, explained Hampton Dellinger, special counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
Federal employees can make these reports to his office, Congress, the inspector general and even to the media, he said.
Speaking on how whistleblowers are silenced, Frank D. LoMonte, legal counsel for CNN and co-chair of the section’s Free Speech and Free Press Committee, said that blanket rules across the federal government often limit or forbid public employees from sharing the benefit of their expertise and knowledge with the public.
Beyond these gag rules, whistleblowers commonly report threats against them.
According to the panelists, when whistleblowers are silenced, the general public suffers the loss. “Open communication is crucial to bring to light information the public needs to know,” Hendrie said, adding that silencing “blocks the free flow of information.”
Protection is available for whistleblowers. Dellinger said that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal agency. “We protect federal employees, especially whistleblowers, and enforce the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan politics,” he said.
“First Amendment rights of public employees is front and center these days because it’s being litigated quite a bit even as we speak,” said LoMonte. “You can’t go a week without another case in the news headlines about an employee getting into disciplinary trouble for what they have said.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2024)
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