U.S. Office of Special Counsel Files Amicus Brief Related To Robert MacLean's Case
On August 25, 2011, the United States Office of Special Counsel filed a brief with the United States Merit Systems Protection Board titled: "MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF APPELLANT ROBERT J. MACLEAN"
The motion requested that the MSPB reverse its June 22, 2009 and July 25, 2011 decisions.
U.S. Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner wrote:
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MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF APPELLANT ROBERT J. MACLEAN . . . Whistleblowers should not have to guess whether information that they reasonably believe evidences waste, fraud, abuse, illegalities or public dangers might be later designated as SSI and therefore should not be disclosed. Rather than making the wrong guess, a would-be whistleblower will likely choose to remain silent to avoid risking the individual's employment. . . . No specific statute exists that would allow the TSA to negate whistleblower protections. The statute that the TSA relied upon to retroactively designate MacLean's protected disclosure as SSl does not establish particular criteria for withholding and does not refer to particular types of matters to be withheld . . . The Board’s expansion of the exception to CSRA protected whistleblowing is contrary to the plain meaning and intent of the statute and significantly expands what Congress intended to be a very narrow exception to CSRA protected whistleblowing, thereby chilling would-be whistleblowers. |
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