The Office of the Special Counsel Can Improve Its Management of Whistleblower Cases

A review was undertaken of the Office of the Special Counsel, within the Merit Systems Protection Board, to determine how the Office is implementing its responsibilities. Two of the significant responsibilities of the Special Counsel are to: (1) establish procedures to insure that allegations of wrongdoings are properly investigated in the executive branch; and (2) protect from reprisals those employees who disclose information about agency wrongdoings.

In its review, GAO found that there is no system in the Office of Special Counsel to insure that cases are processed in a timely manner. As a result, delays are common in every phase of case processing. One of the major causes for delays in processing is the lack of an effective case-tracking and case-monitoring system. The currently used index card file system has not provided a means for effectively monitoring, managing, and tracking not only whistleblower cases, but also the other types of complaints received by the Special Counsel. Additionally, GAO found that the Special Counsel did not monitor either the implementation, timeliness, or effectiveness of the action taken or proposed by the agencies and that there was confusion about the role and responsibility of the Special Counsel. Further, the Special Counsel has not insured that a whistleblower's allegation is always understood and communicated to the agency involved.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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