The Government Doesn't Punish Whistleblowers; It Just Shoves Them In Closets Or Sends Them To The Basement

from the not-punitive,-just-really,-really-bitchy dept

Fri, Aug 8th 2014 11:04am — Tim Cushing

More evidence of the US government's fabled whistleblower protections at work. While laws may prohibit direct retaliation for speaking up about misconduct, there's nothing in place to prevent an agency from taking a useful employee and Milton-ing them into irrelevance.

[Paula] Pedene, 56, is the former chief spokeswoman for this VA hospital. Now, she is living in a bureaucrat's urban legend. After complaining to higher-ups about mismanagement at this hospital, she has been reassigned — indefinitely — to a desk in the basement.

Now, the good news is that investigators are still trying to determine whether this reassignment to the depths of the hospital was retaliatory. The bad news is that even if they can prove this, there's likely nothing that can be done about it.

In the past, whistleblowers have had their desks moved to break rooms, broom closets and basements. It's a clever punishment, good-government activists say, that exploits a gray area in the law.

The whole thing can look minor on paper. They moved your office. So what? But the change is designed to afflict the striving soul of a federal worker, with a mix of isolation, idle time and lost prestige.

And, of course, this isn't an isolated incident. Another contractor interviewed spent 16 months in a basement office after alerting regulators about improper radioactive material processing. An Air Force chemist found himself sweeping the floor of his basement office after uncovering mismanagement. As for Pedene, her whistleblowing helped uncover an $11 million budget shortfall, one that led to the voluntary resignation of hospital's director. Instead of adding another accolade to her active 20 years of service, Pedene's office was moved as far away as possible from the rest of the hospital and her responsibilities almost completely eliminated.

Those in charge used this minor breach as the supposed justification for moving her downstairs.

The chief accusation was that Pedene had let her husband upload photos of a VA-sponsored Veterans Day parade onto her work computer. He was helping her finish a PowerPoint presentation she was working on. He was a non-VA employee, working on a VA computer.

The hospital refuses to address any questions about Pedene's situation, claiming it was a decision made by her previous boss -- one that was forced out during the recent investigation that uncovered the use of bogus wait lists to cover up how long patients were waiting for treatment.

The scant legal protections Pedene can avail herself of look much better on paper than in practice.

In theory, it is illegal to make the basement into a bureaucratic purgatory. In 1994, for instance, Congress prohibited agencies from making significant changes in a whistleblower's "working conditions" as punishment for speaking out.

But in practice, the situation is murkier. Some courts have said moving an employee to a basement or closet usually amounts to punishment. But others have said this is a decision that should be made case by case. How nice is the basement office? How big is the closet?

What makes this tougher for the people being relegated to basements or closets is there are no easily-definable damages to be pursued -- which makes it unlikely that many lawyers would be interested in pursuing the case. And so, the government gets away with it. It can still pretend it's looking out for whistleblowers while ignoring those who have simply been removed from their visible positions and offices and stripped of their responsibilities. All this does is guarantee that more and more malfeasance will be the result of very public leaks rather than issues that could be handled internally with a minimal of PR damage.

The government likes to actively punish leakers but it doesn't treat those who go through proper channels much better. It would apparently rather have abuse and misconduct remain out of sight and out of mind and remain secure in its delusion that its agencies are staffed with good people doing good work.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: government, punishment, whistleblowers

31 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Michael, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:14am

After complaining to higher-ups about mismanagement at this hospital, she has been reassigned — indefinitely — to a desk in the subterranean executive campus.

All better.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:15am

more than anything, this shows how pathetic the bosses are and the lengths they will go to to try to cover up their wrong doings!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:16am

If you think whistleblowing in the govt is bad try doing it in corporate america
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:17am

As an introvert and federal employee myself being reassigned to my own private room instead of sitting in a cubicle farm would be great. Of course the reduction of duties would suck, but at least I would have some privacy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
AricTheRed (profile), 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:21am

Re: A desk in the subterranean executive campus
"... but at least I would have some privacy."

While I surf porn and read The Intercept.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:27am

Re: Re: A desk in the subterranean executive campus
No, the porn would be picked up on the filters and just give them a reason to fire you. However you could now have music blasting at full volumn. :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:27am

Re:
That would be a chance to write the great American novel, or the next killer application.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:30am

Re: Re: Re: A desk in the subterranean executive campus
*volume
stupid lack of auto-correct!!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ninja (profile), 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:32am

Re:
I thought about it, I wouldn't mind getting privacy and free money. You can always turn your stay into something productive. I'd simply start studying to get the hell out of the place to a new one. Or simply study for leisure and tinker with some personal entrepreneurship (aka: my own business). Sounds like you can make an opportunity out of it if you want.

Still, it's a despicable move...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Trevor, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:33am

Maybe they put her in the basement so she has easier access to all the old files and can find MORE problems to report!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
bob, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:40am

Re: Re:
sounds great on paper but you have to remember that if you do development of an idea at work then your employer would own part of your idea too. Similar to how Keith Alexander claims he discovered something after leaving office instead of claiming he developed his "idea" while in office.

If you get training at work that can be used eleswhere then there is no problem, just be sure to work on your idea outside of work and have documentation to back that up if the company tries to claim partial ownership.

If anything is developed by people in government then the government owns it not the person.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:40am

Re:
"Maybe they put her in the basement so she has easier access to all the old files and can find MORE problems to report!"

Yeah... that's the ticket!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Andyroo, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:47am

Simple
Instead of approaching management and trying to get the fraud or mismanagement sorted out maybe people should just send a letter with all the evidence to newspapers until they the government start rewarding them and supporting them, not punishing them. As soon as a whistle-blower is isolated the government should be held responsible and those making the decision to do so fired and charged with abuse of their power by the government.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Michael, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:47am

Re:
Why is she out of the kitchen?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
limbodog (profile), 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:57am

Military whistleblowers
For the miltary, it demotes them, pushes them to desk jobs in meaningless tasks, takes away their pension, and ruins their lives.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PRMan, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:57am

Re: Re:
"That would be a chance to write the great American novel, or the next killer application."

Which the government would then own...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
RadioactiveSmurf (profile), 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:59am

Re: Re: Re:
Well don't tell them you developed the idea at work. Also like Keith Alexander you "do it on your own time" leave and then a month later launch the idea.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 11:59am

Re: Simple
Just make sure you get on the FBI's whistle blower list before you start sending out the documents just so they know not to intercept or prosecute you.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 12:02pm

Re: Re:
She's in the kitchen in the basement.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 12:31pm

Lets look at this way there have tons of whistle-blowers out there , we see everyday how many are mistreated , lets get an actual number of those that are and have been protected.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Androgynous Cowherd, 8 Aug 2014 @ 12:50pm

Time for statutory damages?
What makes this tougher for the people being relegated to basements or closets is there are no easily-definable damages to be pursued -- which makes it unlikely that many lawyers would be interested in pursuing the case.

Sounds like this might be a good use for statutory damages, then.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Coogan (profile), 8 Aug 2014 @ 12:55pm

Wow, if she got sent to the basement despite going thru proper channels, imagine what they'd done to Edward Snowden. He'd probably find himself living in Russia or something...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DogBreath, 8 Aug 2014 @ 1:34pm

What's the worst that could happen?
They moved Milton Waddams to the basement, and as you can see here, that worked out pretty well.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 1:49pm

Constructive dismissal
Couldn't this be treated as an unfair (retaliatory) dismissal? Generally it would be considered a constructive dismissal, which, at least in some legal systems, is treated much like a firing.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 2:11pm

Re:
lack of job responsibilities + lonely cleaning supply closet (muhaha) + wifi connection + internet porn = best job ever :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jeremy2020 (profile), 8 Aug 2014 @ 2:12pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
That probably works much better for Keith than a whistleblower.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That One Guy (profile), 8 Aug 2014 @ 4:36pm

Easily thrown together
Here's the entire list of whistlblowers who have actually been protected by going through proper channels, like the government is always saying they should:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 4:47pm

Or they just end up mysteriously dead these last few decades.

Take the reporter Michael Hastings who had his car blow up in a rather "unlikely" way.
Or the author of a 9/11 conspiracy book Philip Marshall who apparently shot his family then "shot his dog" then shot himself.
The BP oil spill whistleblowers that all ended up dead I think there was 9-10 of them that just decided to kill themselves one after another

Aaron Swartz "hung himself"

All these whistleblowers that killed themselves look a lot more like murders.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2014 @ 8:03pm

Re: Re: Re:
Well, it would be PD if the government knew about it.

However, if you did the work on your own device (be it electronic or dead-tree) and forged the timestamps (or omitted them) they'd have a hard time proving you did it on the job. They also might be too embarrassed to try to claim any rights, because that would mean admitting that they hadn't noticed that you'd been doing so little official work for so long, with potentially unfortunate consequences for their budget.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 Aug 2014 @ 11:04am

Re: Easily thrown together

actually, i think that's just the top five, all time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John85851 (profile), 11 Aug 2014 @ 3:17pm

Not doing anything at work isn't fun
I think there's a big point that everyone's missing: most people go to work for the challenge of doing the job and to feel like they're doing something productive with their lives. Exactly how long do you think you'll last getting paid to be bored all day?

And if you think you can surf the web (and look at porn), think again. You're still on the company's network which may block all non-business sites (including Facebook, YouTube, personal email). And like other posters have said, if they catch you going to porn sites, that's a reason to fire you. Plus, your phone may not get a connection in the basement.
[ link to this | view in thread ]