Office of Special Counsel
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The Office of Special Counsel says it's been a "victim of its own success" in fiscal 2015, thanks to more VA whistleblowers coming forward.
January 20, 2016 -
The provision tells agencies to show how program performance metrics are tied to priority goals.
January 20, 2016 -
Joe Carson, a 31-year federal employee and a prevailing whistleblower, explains why he believes the U.S. Office of Special Counsel withdrew its rule about contractor whistleblower disclosures.
January 18, 2016 -
The President's picks for VA inspector general and special counsel at the Office of Special Counsel told lawmakers on Tuesday that they would work to provide protection for whistleblowers and transparency when dealing with congressional oversight and reform.
January 12, 2016 -
The Office of Special Counsel decided not to go forward with a proposed regulation that would have expanded the rights of contractors' employees to submit complaints to OSC.
January 07, 2016 -
The Office of Special Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board and Office of Government Ethics haven't received authorization from Congress since 2007. But Congress says it wants to consider additional legislation and statutory changes before it issues new reauthorizations.
December 16, 2015 -
A slew of whistleblower complaints from the Veterans Affairs Department has made this anything but a normal year for the Office of Special Counsel. VA's troubles have raised the profile of this small agency that protects federal employees from prohibited personnel practices. Its leader, Carolyn Lerner, gives Federal Drive with Tom Temin the highlights of the agency's new annual report to Congress.
October 13, 2015 -
OSC sends a letter directly to the President outlining mismanagement within VA and targeting of whistleblowers for disciplinary action.
September 23, 2015 -
The Office of Special Counsel saw a 17 percent jump in whistleblower retaliations and other personnel cases in 2014 as compared to 2013. OSC tells Congress it expects 2015 will be busier.
September 11, 2015 -
The Office of Special Counsel is just the latest federal agency to suffer from the problem of case backlogs. In its latest report to Congress, OSC showed it had nearly 2,000 backlogged "matters" from fiscal 2014. OSC says it expects 6,000 new cases to come in during 2015.
September 11, 2015 -
Blowing the whistle on wrongdoing at the Department of Veterans Affairs can mean risking everything from losing a job to losing the respect of co-workers. But in fighting whistleblower retaliation today, the Office of Special Counsel hopes future whistleblowers will come forward without fear of punishment.
January 28, 2015 -
The Office of Special Counsel is helping Veterans Affairs employees bounce back after they've been punished for blowing the whistle. The office has obtained relief for 25 employees — and counting. OSC deputy special counsel for litigation and legal affairs, Eric Bachman, joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to explain the operation.
January 27, 2015 -
The Office of Special Counsel has proposed a rule change that would allow federal contractors and grantees a new channel to report wrongdoings at federal agencies.
January 23, 2015 -
Veterans Affairs whistleblowers reclaimed their jobs and reputations after supervisors tried to downplay claims of falsified performance reports, a delayed response to rape allegations against a VA employee and low staffing levels at VA medical centers.
January 20, 2015 -
The Office of Special Counsel recently blocked the removal of a TSA inspector in South Carolina. The inspector was also a whistleblower. Kimberly Barnett alleges her supervisor violated agency safety rules and falsified the amount of time he worked and spent in training. The supervisor retaliated — unsuccessfully. Debra Roth is a partner at the law firm Shaw, Bransford and Roth. She joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin for this week's Legal Loop segment to discuss the significance of this case.
January 15, 2015