On April 1, FMA joined a letter to President Biden and congressional leaders, “to support freedom of speech protections for whistleblowers who strengthen our nation’s democracy, challenge abuses of power that betray the public trust, and catalyze accountability.” The letter, spearheaded by the Government Accountability Project, gathered signatures from 263 organizations in addition to FMA.

The letter states, “Improvements to whistleblower protections, historically passed by Congress with bipartisan and nearly unanimous support, and supported by 86 percent of Americans according to a recent Marist poll, are a crucial first step to ensuring accountability and establishing safeguards in the federal government. Public servants should be able to disclose evidence of wrongdoing without fear of reprisal or futility. Truth shared by whistleblowers fuels oversight mechanisms by shining a light on existing weaknesses, inefficiencies, and injustices. We must protect those who courageously speak out about abuses of public trust that undermine our nation’s safety and security and threaten our democracy.”

The groups outlined several global best practices for strengthening whistleblower protections, including four “cornerstones”: Grant employees the right to a jury trial in federal court; Give whistleblowers the right to challenge retaliatory investigations; Extend temporary relief to whistleblowers whenever they prove a prima facie case of retaliation; and, Extend whistleblower rights beyond protection from workplace retaliation, and like the European Union, give whistleblowers a legal defense against civil or criminal liability.

To read the full letter, please click here. 

FMA has long supported whistleblower rights and protections, illustrated by leadership from FMA members such as Jason Wojdylo of FMA Chapter 373 (United States Marshals Service). Whistleblowers who call attention to fraud, waste, abuse, and violations of laws and regulations are courageous and deserve protection from reprisal. FMA will continue our efforts working with Members of Congress and other interested parties to protect employees’ rights.