National Whistleblower Center
Encyclopedia
The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax exempt, educational and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
. Since its founding in 1988, the Center has worked on whistleblower
cases relating to environmental protection, nuclear safety, and government and corporate accountability.
Forensic Crime Lab, the Center's Forensic Justice Project has taken on a review of misconduct in crime labs nationwide. The cases under review have impacted many potential wrongful convictions, resulted in the review of thousands of cases, and given freedom to wrongfully convicted defendants. In addition to reviewing misconduct at state crime labs, the FJP continues to monitor and expose problems within the FBI and FBI crime lab.
, whistleblower Marrita Murphy (represented by David K. Colapinto
, general counsel for the National Whistleblower Center) challenged the constitutionality of taxing compensatory damages in civil rights/whistleblower cases. In August, 2006, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of Ms. Murphy, and declared unconstitutional a special tax Congress
had passed in 1996, which targeted civil rights victims who received compensation for emotional distress damages. However, on July 3, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
reversed itself on the case, holding that the IRS can tax damage awards based solely on compensating victims who suffer emotional injuries.
Mrs. Bunnantine (Bunny) Greenhouse
Bunny Greenhouse
, former chief contracting officer of the United States Army Corps of Engineers
, testified in June 2005 before a Democratic party
public committee. Her testimony included allegations against Halliburton
of instances of waste, fraud and other abuses with regards to its operations in the Iraq War. After standing up and "blowing the whistle," she was demoted and removed from her position as the chief civilian contracting authority of the Corps. In July 2011, she won close to $1 million in full restitution of lost wages, compensatory damages, and attorney fees.
Jane Turner
In 1999, former FBI
special agent Jane Turner brought to the attention of her management team serious misconduct concerning failures to investigate and prosecute crimes against children in Indian Country and in the Minot, North Dakota community. Turner also reported on misconduct related to the potential criminal theft of property from the 9/11 Ground Zero crime scene in New York City
by Minneapolis FBI personnel. Although she was considered one of the best agents working in Indian Country, Turner's twenty-five year career with the FBI
was brought to a halt when she was forced from service as retaliation for what FBI
management termed as "tarnishing" the image of the FBI
.
Dr. Frederic Whitehurst
Dr. Whitehurst
is the Executive Director of the NWC's Forensic Justice Project. Dr. Whitehurst received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Duke University
, a J.D. from Georgetown University
. He joined the FBI in 1982 and served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI
crime lab from 1986-98. He retired after winning the first-ever whistleblower case against the FBI.
Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo
Dr. Coleman-Adebayo
was a senior policy analyst for the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). She founded two employee-rights groups, EPA Employees Against Racial Discrimination and the No FEAR coalition. Through her leadership, the No FEAR Coalition, working closely with Representative James Sensenbrenner, organized a successful grass-roots campaign and obtained overwhelming Congressional
support for the "Notification of Federal Employees Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act."
The Act was signed into law by President Bush
in 2002.
Dr. Jonathan Fishbein
The Center has championed the case of one of the highest ranking drug whistleblowers in American history, Dr. Jonathan Fishbein. Dr. Fishbein exposed a series of unethical and improper medical problems within the National Institutes of Health
's drug safety clinical trials program. In the wake of Dr. Fishbein's allegations, the United States Department of Health and Human Services
enacted sweeping conflict of interest reforms and promised protection of senior ranking employees who blow the whistle. Additionally, drug companies have instituted voluntary reforms in an effort to circumvent congressional acts. Regardless of the scandals that have rocked the drug agency, Congress
has still not enacted federal protection for drug whistleblowers.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Since its founding in 1988, the Center has worked on whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
cases relating to environmental protection, nuclear safety, and government and corporate accountability.
Mission
The full, stated mission of the NWC is:The National Whistleblowers Center (NWC) is an advocacy organization with a 23-year history of protecting the right of individuals to speak out about wrongdoing in the workplace without fear of retaliation. Since 1988, NWC has supported whistleblowers in the courts and before Congress, achieving victories for environmental protection, nuclear safety, government ethics and corporate accountability. NWC also sponsors several educational and assistance programs, including an online resource center on whistleblower rights, a speakers bureau of national experts and former whistleblowers, and a national attorney referral service run by the NWC's sister group the National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund (NWLDEF). The National Whistleblowers Center is a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.
Attorney Referral Service (ARS)
This national service provides legal referrals to whistleblowers in search of competent counsel, such as Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, whose senior partner Stephen Kohn is executive director of the center. The ARS is composed of attorneys from across the nation who are interested in whistleblowing cases.Public Education Programs
These programs are aimed at ensuring that employees are aware of the protections afforded to whistleblowers. As part of this effort, the Center's attorneys have authored the leading legal treatises on whistleblower protection and sponsor educational programs for employees, Congressional committees, public interest groups, attorneys and government-oversight agencies. These programs include presentations by the NWC Speakers Bureau, which consists of qualified and experienced speakers and presenters who are experts in their fields, and include prominent whistleblowers. The Center also sponsors regular training programs for public interest lawyers, law students and undergraduate students interested in public service.Forensic Justice Project (FJP)
After leading a successful six year campaign to reform the FBI'sFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Forensic Crime Lab, the Center's Forensic Justice Project has taken on a review of misconduct in crime labs nationwide. The cases under review have impacted many potential wrongful convictions, resulted in the review of thousands of cases, and given freedom to wrongfully convicted defendants. In addition to reviewing misconduct at state crime labs, the FJP continues to monitor and expose problems within the FBI and FBI crime lab.
NWC Accomplishments
In addition to protecting the jobs and careers of numerous whistleblowers, the Center's victories include the following:- Winning reinstatement for the highest ranking nuclear whistleblower;
- Collecting millions of dollars in damages on behalf of whistleblowers;
- Using the Freedom of Information Act (United States)Freedom of Information Act (United States)The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
to force government agencies to release hundreds of thousands of pages of information documenting government misconduct; - Exposing misconduct at the World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and the 9/11 crime scenes, including theft by FBI agents and the mishandling of evidence; - Documenting deficiencies in the FBI's counterterrorism program;
- Requiring the FBI to create whistleblower protection for FBI agents for the first time in U.S. history;
- Forcing the FBI to accredit its crime lab;
- Forcing the United States Attorney GeneralUnited States Attorney GeneralThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
to withdraw gag orders on government employees who desired to expose ethical violations to Members of Congress; - Successfully worked with CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to ensure passage of critical whistleblower protection laws, such as the No-FEAR ActNo-FEAR ActThe Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that seeks to discourage federal managers and supervisors from engaging in unlawful discrimination and retaliation...
, the Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate Whistleblower Protection ActSarbanes-Oxley ActThe Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 , also known as the 'Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act' and 'Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act' and commonly called Sarbanes–Oxley, Sarbox or SOX, is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002, which...
, and the Civil Rights Tax Relief Act; - Forcing President BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to withdraw his nomination for head of enforcement at the United States Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
due to former retaliation against whistleblowers; - Preventing federal agencies from gagging employee speech critical of agency policies;
- Banning "hush moneyHush moneyHush money is an informal term for financial incentives or rewards offered in exchange for not divulging information.Hush Money may also refer to:* Hush Money , a 1921 silent film directed by Charles Maigne...
" payments for all environmental and nuclear federal safety cases; - Exposing the vulnerabilities of U.S. nuclear power plants to airborne terrorist attacks and forcing reforms in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory CommissionThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
; - Ensuring that military whistleblowers are informed of their rights by the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
; - Establishing numerous legal precedents strengthening whistleblower protections for public and private sector employees, including expanding the scope of protected whistleblower speech, enjoining government regulations which restricted whistleblowing, and expanding the use of the Privacy ActPrivacy Act of 1974The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, Public Law No. 93-579, establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies...
to prevent the government from smearing its critics.
Murphy v. IRS
In Murphy v. IRSMurphy v. IRS
Marrita Murphy and Daniel J. Leveille, Appellants v. Internal Revenue Service and United States of America, Appellees , is a controversial tax case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit originally held that the taxation of emotional distress awards by the...
, whistleblower Marrita Murphy (represented by David K. Colapinto
David K. Colapinto
David K. Colapinto is an attorney for Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, a Washington, D.C., USA, law firm specializing in employment law.Colapinto was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on December 4, 1958. He received his J.D. degree from Antioch School of Law after graduating from Boston University with a...
, general counsel for the National Whistleblower Center) challenged the constitutionality of taxing compensatory damages in civil rights/whistleblower cases. In August, 2006, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of Ms. Murphy, and declared unconstitutional a special tax Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
had passed in 1996, which targeted civil rights victims who received compensation for emotional distress damages. However, on July 3, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
reversed itself on the case, holding that the IRS can tax damage awards based solely on compensating victims who suffer emotional injuries.
Mrs. Bunnantine (Bunny) GreenhouseBunny GreenhouseBunnatine H. Greenhouse is a former chief contracting officer Senior Executive Service of the United States Army Corps of Engineers...
Bunny GreenhouseBunny Greenhouse
Bunnatine H. Greenhouse is a former chief contracting officer Senior Executive Service of the United States Army Corps of Engineers...
, former chief contracting officer of the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
, testified in June 2005 before a Democratic party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
public committee. Her testimony included allegations against Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
of instances of waste, fraud and other abuses with regards to its operations in the Iraq War. After standing up and "blowing the whistle," she was demoted and removed from her position as the chief civilian contracting authority of the Corps. In July 2011, she won close to $1 million in full restitution of lost wages, compensatory damages, and attorney fees.
Jane TurnerJane Turner (FBI whistleblower)Jane Turner entered the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent in October 1978. She was assigned to the Seattle Division and became the first female SWAT member and the first female Profile Coordinator...
In 1999, former FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
special agent Jane Turner brought to the attention of her management team serious misconduct concerning failures to investigate and prosecute crimes against children in Indian Country and in the Minot, North Dakota community. Turner also reported on misconduct related to the potential criminal theft of property from the 9/11 Ground Zero crime scene in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by Minneapolis FBI personnel. Although she was considered one of the best agents working in Indian Country, Turner's twenty-five year career with the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
was brought to a halt when she was forced from service as retaliation for what FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
management termed as "tarnishing" the image of the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
.
Dr. Frederic WhitehurstFrederic WhitehurstFrederic Whitehurst was a Supervisory Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory from 1986 to 1998 where he went public as a whistleblower to bring attention to procedural errors and misconduct.-Vietnam:...
Dr. WhitehurstFrederic Whitehurst
Frederic Whitehurst was a Supervisory Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory from 1986 to 1998 where he went public as a whistleblower to bring attention to procedural errors and misconduct.-Vietnam:...
is the Executive Director of the NWC's Forensic Justice Project. Dr. Whitehurst received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, a J.D. from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. He joined the FBI in 1982 and served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
crime lab from 1986-98. He retired after winning the first-ever whistleblower case against the FBI.
Dr. Marsha Coleman-AdebayoMarsha Coleman-AdebayoMarsha Coleman-Adebayo was a senior policy analyst for the United States Environmental Protection Agency . Beginning in 1996, she filed complaints alleging that a company from the United States was mining vanadium in South Africa and harming the environment and human health. The EPA did not...
Dr. Coleman-AdebayoMarsha Coleman-Adebayo
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo was a senior policy analyst for the United States Environmental Protection Agency . Beginning in 1996, she filed complaints alleging that a company from the United States was mining vanadium in South Africa and harming the environment and human health. The EPA did not...
was a senior policy analyst for the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA). She founded two employee-rights groups, EPA Employees Against Racial Discrimination and the No FEAR coalition. Through her leadership, the No FEAR Coalition, working closely with Representative James Sensenbrenner, organized a successful grass-roots campaign and obtained overwhelming Congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
support for the "Notification of Federal Employees Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act."
No-FEAR Act
The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that seeks to discourage federal managers and supervisors from engaging in unlawful discrimination and retaliation...
The Act was signed into law by President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in 2002.
Dr. Jonathan FishbeinJonathan FishbeinJonathan Fishbein is an American physician and former director of the National Institutes of Health Office for Policy in Clinical Research Operations. In 2005, Fishbein alleged that an NIH-funded clinical trial of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine, conducted in Africa, was invalid because of poor...
The Center has championed the case of one of the highest ranking drug whistleblowers in American history, Dr. Jonathan Fishbein. Dr. Fishbein exposed a series of unethical and improper medical problems within the National Institutes of HealthNational Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
's drug safety clinical trials program. In the wake of Dr. Fishbein's allegations, the United States Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"...
enacted sweeping conflict of interest reforms and promised protection of senior ranking employees who blow the whistle. Additionally, drug companies have instituted voluntary reforms in an effort to circumvent congressional acts. Regardless of the scandals that have rocked the drug agency, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
has still not enacted federal protection for drug whistleblowers.