Whistleblower proceedings afforded workers at Energy Department contractors and subcontractors would be revised under a rulemaking proposal announced in a Federal Register notice Tuesday
Contractor employees usually far outnumber federal workers at most DOE facilities and the agency started its own contractor protection program in 1992. This is part of an effort by DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals to “modernize” the section of the Code of Federal Regulations that covers the program, which was last updated in 1999, according the notice.
The Energy Department program was started to extend protections, similar to those given federal workers under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, to contractor employees. The act is meant to protect workers who report mismanagement, or legal or regulatory breaches, from retaliation.
Among a long list of proposed changes to federal regulations in the proposed rulemaking, workers who file a whistleblower protection case with OHA should do so electronically, although exceptions can be granted if “good cause” is shown, the notice says. “Electronic filing is faster, more reliable, and more cost-efficient than paper filing.”
Anyone who does not want to file electronically could contact OHA by telephone, email, the U.S. mail, or other means in order to request permission for an exception.
The Office of Hearings and Appeals also wants to eliminate the option to having a hearing on workplace complaints without an investigation. “Over the years, OHA has observed that investigations are crucial to help refine and clarify the issues for hearing,” according to the rulemaking. Hearings without investigations are not common, but there is the occasional request to skip the probe in hopes of obtaining a faster decision on the complaint.
Comments on the DOE rulemaking should be submitted by May 30, and can be emailed to [email protected].
In February, the Energy Department tweaked its Employee Concerns program, so workers could be allowed to have someone other than their immediate boss inspect their claims. The change replaced a 2001 order which said an immediate supervisor could review the concern with the employee’s permission.
In November 2018, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources energy subcommittee held a hearing on legislation introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) to strengthen whistleblower protections for employees at the Energy Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The bill, however, did not progress any further.
