DOJ, DOJ OIG Must Do More to Educate FBI Workforce on Whistleblower Rights
In a pair of new reports, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Department of Justice (DOJ) must strengthen whistleblower protections at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In one of the reports, GAO conducted its first examination of how the FBI handles whistleblower complaints since 2015.
While noting that DOJ closed five times as many whistleblower cases as compared to the 2015 report, it found several areas of concern:
· DOJ only updated its regulations this year, to align with the FBI Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-302). That law is designed to protect FBI employees who report wrongdoing or make protected disclosures to supervisors in their direct chain of command. GAO notes that before the regulations were updated “some complainants experienced difficulties when making protected disclosures to supervisors.”
· The FBI’s mandatory training fails to mention the review process for whistleblower complainants alleging that they experienced retaliatory security clearance and access determination.
· DOJ’s investigating offices continue to fail to meet the required time frame to acknowledge FBI whistleblower retaliation complaints.
· While statutory changes during fiscal year (FY) 2023 provided FBI employees with the right to seek relief from the U.S Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), GAO said the changes are vague about when determinations and corrective action orders are considered final.
GAO made five recommendations to DOJ which include updating mandatory training and ensure that notification requirements are met. DOJ concurred with the recommendations.
It also made one recommendation to Congress, saying it should “consider clarifying when determinations and corrective action orders are considered final and when complainants should be able to exercise their rights to seek corrective action from the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.”
GAO’s Faults DOJ OIG
In a second report, GAO noted that DOJ’s Office of Inspector General (DOJ OIG) needs to do more to expand awareness of an FBI employee’s whistleblower rights.
The report found the investigating offices did not meet the 15-day requirement in an estimated 46 percent of complaints closed from 2018-2022 and that “mandatory training for FBI employees co-sponsored with the FBI did not communicate that FBI whistleblower retaliation complainants may seek review by DOJ's Office of the Inspector General if they believe a retaliatory security clearance or access determination has been taken in retaliation for a protected disclosure.”
GAO made two recommendations which include meeting the 15-day time requirement and updating training.