Special Counsel’s Chief Is Assailed (washingtonpost.com)
The head of an independent agency that enforces workplace and whistleblower rights of federal employees was accused yesterday of trying to curb employee rights in his own office.
The Office of Special Counsel denied that was the case, and said agency employees will be encouraged to speak up within the office about their concerns.
An internal e-mail was leaked to three watchdog groups, which called it a “gag order” aimed at silencing the agency’s career staff. “It is ironic that the nation’s protector of whistleblowers is not protecting his own,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government
That e-mail instructed agency employees to refer complainants, their representatives, federal agency representatives and others “to the press release on our web site as a complete and definitive statement of OSC’s policy” on sexual-orientation discrimination.
It also said that “the Special Counsel has directed that any official comment on or discussion of confidential or sensitive internal agency matters with anyone outside OSC must be approved in advance. . . .”
The e-mail prompted a letter of protest yesterday from three watchdog groups — the Government Accountability Project, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Project on Government Oversight.
The groups said “the sweeping and overbroad language” in the e-mail violates the First Amendment, the Whistleblower Protection Act and an “anti-gag” law annually renewed by Congress to ensure that federal employees can bring concerns to lawmakers and congressional committees.
“The special counsel is the last official that should be issuing gag orders,” Jeff Ruch, executive director of the environmental group, said.