[CPEO-MEF] Navy Disregards Health & Safety Again

[marty martinson <martymartinson@yahoo.com>]

OSC Sends Whistleblower Case to Congress=20

The Office of Special Counsel says the Navy failed to respond
appropriately to a whistleblower case. After the former Naval Air
Station in Alameda, Calif., was closed in 1997, the Navy spent $2
million to clean up several contaminated sites before turning the
station over to the city of Alameda. Firefighters who had worked at
the station found evidence that the Navy had known of the
contamination for years before that, and had neglected to inform
them of the hazards of working there. OSC found that the Navy=92s
investigation of the whistleblower claims was incomplete (see News
Digest, Dec. 6).=20

In transmitting the OSC report to the President and Congress,
Special Counsel Elaine Kaplan noted that the Navy neglected to
include some information required by law in its investigation report,
including the following:
A description of the conduct of the Navy=92s investigation into
the allegations=20
A description of the corrective action the Navy intends to take=20
Any corrective action the Navy intends to take against the former fire
chief who failed to inform the firefighters of the hazards at the work site=
=20

In contrast with the Navy=92s handling of this case is the Air Force=92s
response to an OSC settlement request in another whistleblower
case. In the Air Force case, an Eglin Air Force Base employee
reported that a supervisor was "shielding" hazardous waste sites
from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection. The supervisor retaliated
against the employee, eventually separating him from the agency
through a reduction-in-force.=20

In response to OSC=92s investigation, the Air Force settled=97without
conceding that it violated the law=97by providing the employee with
back pay and interest for the six months he was unemployed and
raising a low performance rating that the supervisor had improperly
given him. The Air Force will also require the supervisor to undergo
training in the prevention of prohibited personnel practices.

"Reproduced with permission of Federal Employees News Digest, Inc."=20


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