Court Derides DOE "Milquetoast Regulation" on Whistleblower Protection

[GACMail98@aol.com]

fyi.  [http://www.whistleblower.org/www/Hogan.htm]

Glenn
GACMail98@aol.com

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PRESS RELEASE
Immediate Release
7/1/98

For More Information 
Tom Carpenter (206) 292-2850, 
Bob Seldon, Project LAW (202) 955-6968


DOE's "Milquetoast Regulation" on Whistleblower Protection Derided 
by U.S. Court Protections a "Hollow Promise" That Cannot Be Enforced, 

GAP Issues Warning to Agency Employees About Trojan Horse Regulation

Washington D.C.: A U.S. District Court says it does not have the power to
enforce a decision on behalf of a whistleblower made by the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) against a contractor, stating that the agency may "have far more
tolerance for retaliation than it claims." 

The biting decision comes in the case of C. Lawrence Cornett, a senior
environmental scientist who brought a claim of reprisal under an Energy
Department regulation in 1994 after he was terminated from his job after
disclosing scientific flaws in an environmental study being conducted for the
DOE by his employer, META, Inc. The DOE prohibits reprisals against contractor
employees through an internal regulation codified at Section 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, Part 708. Cornett filed under the agency provision, and
won every stage of the process, from the initial investigative decision to the
hearing officer's claim and the appeal before the Deputy Secretary, ultimately
winning a judgment of $300,000 after four years of litigation.

The Energy Department employs over 100,000 contractor employees performing
some of the most dangerous and environmentally-sensitive work in the country
-- maintaining and cleaning up after production of nuclear weapons materials.
The legacy of 50 years of production has produced some of the most toxic and
radioactive wastelands in the world, at places such as the Hanford Site in
Washington State, the Oak Ridge facility in Tennessee, the Rocky Flats plant
in Colorado, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Cornett's job was
to study the impact of the cleanup on the environment. It is because of the
dangerous and environmentally-sensitive nature of the work performed by agency
employees that the Congress and the public have insisted on job protections
for whistleblowers. DOE has a long and sullied history regarding whistleblower
reprisals, recently acknowledged in a sworn deposition by former Energy
Secretary Hazel O'Leary.

Despite the final agency's decision on behalf of Cornett, the DOE refused to
require the contractor to pay the judgment to Cornett. Cornett has been out of
work since his termination in 1994, has declared bankruptcy and has been
unable to find work. When DOE failed to take action on behalf of Cornett, he
filed an action in U.S. District Court, which was assigned to Judge Hogan,
seeking to a court order to enforce the judgment.

U.S. District Court judge Thomas Hogan noted that former Energy Secretary Haze
O'Leary committed to a policy of "zero tolerance" for retaliation against
whistleblowers. He wrote - - 

"Because DOE has supported its promises with a mere milquetoast of a
regulation, essentially unenforceable in court, persons like [Cornett] are
left
with little more than the promises of politicians and are held captive to the
whim of an agency that may have far more tolerance for retaliation than it
claims. . . Thus, while plaintiff may perhaps seek to secure his judgment
through another branch of government, the Court cannot prevent DOE from
sitting idly as inspiring sound bytes echo aimlessly, giving little substance
to
hollow promises."

The Government Accountability Project, (GAP) , a co-counsel for Mr. Cornett,
has monitored DOE's whistleblower issues since 1985, and authored the
rulemaking petition that led to the establishment of the 10 CFR Part 708
procedure. Tom Carpenter, Director of GAP's Nuclear Programs, expressed dismay
at the DOE's inaction and the judge's ruling: "DOE's failure to support Mr.
Cornett is appalling. DOE employees should not subject themselves to this
Trojan Horse procedure, which lures reprisal victims into a process that has
no enforceable remedy. The public is the ultimate loser, because employees
will rightfully not trust the system and remain silent. DOE proves that it
doesn't pay to be a whistleblower." 

Bob Seldon, Director of Project LAW, one of Cornett's attorneys, said - "Larry
Cornett performed a valuable service for the DOE and the public with his
disclosures and paid a high price as a result."