Todd Jacobson
WC Monitor
7/3/2014
More than six months after an investigation into operations at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board began and then had to be curtailed, it’s unclear whether that investigation has picked up again. The Postal Service Inspector General began an investigation in December into concerns about whether DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur properly investigated sexual harassment and retribution allegations made by some Board employees, whether Winokur directed information to be withheld from some Board members, and alleged financial mismanagement tied to the continuing service of former DNFSB member Joseph Bader. However, the Postal Service IG relinquished its DNFSB responsibilities earlier this year when Congress required the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspector General to serve as the IG for the DNFSB.
When contacted by WC Monitor, the NRC IG refused to confirm whether it has picked up the investigation. “Unlike audits conducted by the OIG, it is not the policy of our office to publically confirm or deny the existence of particular investigations,” said Joseph McMillan, the NRC IG’s Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. “That being said, I will state that our office was appropriately briefed on all pertinent matters upon assuming investigative responsibilities for DNFSB.”
Tensions High at Board
Tensions have been running high at the Board due to a number of recent events, including the allegations against Winokur, which were made by DNFSB General Counsel David Jonas. Jonas has been on indefinite paid administrative leave by Winokur since an investigation into a hostile work environment in the Office of the General Counsel began. Several other high profile management changes have taken place at the Board, including the 2013 firing of General Manager Marcelyn Atwood and the demotion of Technical Director Tim Dwyer, and an employee satisfaction survey released earlier this year showed a sharp drop in employee morale over the last year.
Winokur previously suggested that a series of significant changes at the Board in recent years, including Congressional modifications to the Board’s statute, the introduction of an Inspector General, a new Performance Management System, and improvements to programmatic internal controls, had impacted employee satisfaction. He declined to comment on the status of the IG investigation.
Audit Work Already Underway
Work by the audit wing of the NRC IG is already underway, and Assistant Inspector General for Audit Stephen Dingbaum told WC Monitor that three audits are currently underway and should be completed by the end of the fiscal year. Five additional employees have been hired to handle the additional DNFSB workload, he said. Dingbaum said the ongoing audits are focusing on high-risk areas involving the use of purchase cards and travel as well as the Federal Information Systems Management Act. He said the audits were not prompted by any one incident, but were chosen because they’re “typical high-risk areas” of the government. “We know that area, we know that law, we know how it should operate,” Dingbaum said. “It gives us a chance to get our foot in the door at DNFSB and start getting them used to auditors being around and asking questions.”
Dingbaum also said work has begun on an annual work plan for the DNFSB that is slated to be completed in October as well as the IG’s Assessment of the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the DNFSB.
