Published: June 2015

Defenseless whistleblowers forced to risk it all

Congress should quickly restore whistleblower rights for government contractors who work in the intelligence community (IC). In addition to facing the threat of being criminally prosecuted, IC contractors currently have no statutory protection against employer retribution, including terminations, demotions or blacklisting, when they expose government misconduct in an attempt to further public interest.

From 2008 through 2012, contractors from the intelligence community (IC) were afforded best-practice whistleblower protections. The law was so successful in uncovering taxpayer waste that Republicans and Democrats both agreed on its permanent expansion. Despite enjoying bipartisan support, these protections were only extended to contractors outside of IC and IC contractors’ pre-existing protections were removed.

Consumer Action joins coalition advocates in urging Congress to restore whistleblower protections for IC contractors. Whistleblowers must be able to safely report government abuses of power that betray the public’s trust, infringe on Americans’ privacy and waste billions of taxpayer’s dollars.

Lead Organization

Government Accountability Project

Other Organizations

American Civil Liberties Union | Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment | Bill of Rights Defense Committee | Brennan Center for Justice | Center for Digital Democracy | Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights | Center for Media and Democracy | Citizens' Environmental Coalition | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) | Coalition for Change, Inc. | ConnectiCOSH | Constitutional Alliance | Consumer Action | Consumer Watchdog | Defending Dissent Foundation | Demand Progress | DownsizeDC.org | Drum Majors for Truth | Equal Justice Alliance | Essential Information | Firedoglake.com | Freedom of the Press Foundation | Golden Badge | Government Accountability Project | Gun Owners of America | Human Rights Watch | International Association of Whistleblowers | Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP | Liberty Coalition | National Forum On Judicial Accountability | National Council for Occupational Safety and Health | National Employment Lawyers Association | National Taxpayers Union | NETWORK (A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby) | New Jersey Work Environment Council | OpenTheGovernment.org | Organizations Associating for the Kind of Change America Really Needs (OAK) } Patient Privacy Rights | PEN American Center | Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America Restored (POPULAR) | Privacy Times | Project On Government Oversight | Public Citizen | The Rutherford Institute | Sciencecorps | State Community Councils | Sunlight Foundation | Taxpayers Protection Alliance | United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities (USMFW) | Whistleblower Support Fund

More Information

For more information, visit whistleblower.org

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Defenseless whistleblowers forced to risk it all   (ICContractorWhistleblowerLetterFinal.pdf)