Recovery Act Whistleblower Protections

The U. S. Department of Transportation (”DOT”) Office of Inspector General offers information online at http://www.oig.dot.gov/recovery/whistleblower_protections.jsp concerning Section 1553 of Division A, Title XV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-5.  In this regard, the DOT states that the Recovery Act offers protections for certain individuals who make specified disclosures relating to Recovery Act funds.  According to the DOT posting, any non-federal employer receiving recovery funds is required to post a notice of the rights and remedies provided under this section of the Recovery Act. 

The DOT states that protected employees may include employees of non-federal employers receiving recovery funds, including state and local governments, contractors, subcontractors, grantees or professional membership organizations acting in the interest of recovery fund recipients.  Covered employees are protected against being discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for making a protected disclosure. 

To be protected, the disclosure must be made by the employee to the Recovery Accountablity and Transparency Board, an Inspector General, the Comptroller General, a member of Congress, a state or federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, a person with supervisory authority over the employee, a court or grand jury, or the head of a federal agency or his/her representative.  In addition, the DOT states that the disclosure must involve information that the employee believes is evidence of: (1) gross mismanagement of an agency contract or grant relating to recovery funds; (2) a gross waste of recovery funds; (3) a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of recovery funds; or, (4) a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract or grant awarded or issued relating to recovery funds. 

The DOT recommends that whistleblower victims of complaint reprisal involving DOT recovery funds contact the Office of Inspector General hotline.